Oliver Wyman Forum

A Future of Money Adventure

Quest for the Token of Fortune

A choose your own path story

Technology is fundamentally challenging the way we think of money. From something most people took for granted, like electricity or running water, the nature of money is being reimagined today through innovation and new business models. Something new, more varied, and functional is starting to emerge.
Distributed ledger technologies like blockchain, which have given rise to Bitcoin and thousands of cryptocurrencies over the past 15 years,are one of the driving forces. Unscrupulous operators and a lack of regulation and consumer protection may have led to a “crypto winter,” but big banks, central banks, and other financial institutions are innovating with the underlying technology to secure their place in the digital future. Quest for the Token of Fortune Nearly a hundred countries are now considering launching their own digital currencies – and four countries or currency unions have already done so. Countless crypto and digital asset startups are still working to develop their own money visions.
So the questions about what money is and how finance can be structured remain. We confront a divide between those who believe banks and central banks will embrace the new technology and lead the money revolution, and those who see a more decentralized future, with money no longer controlled by the institutions we are used to. Some of these potential futures are so different from what some have grown up with that it can be hard to imagine how we might get there.
Which is where our adventure novel comes in. Like popular books of the past, you choose your own experience and find your own path. You are a young professional working in finance with aspirations of making your mark in the world. You face many decisions on your journey, such as who to partner with and what technologies to use. The choices you make will determine whether the nature of money changes – or you end up jobless. Choose wisely!
Take note: digital assets and the future of money are complex and technical topics, and creative liberties have been taken to simplify the concepts involved. For a real deep dive, we provide a list of recommended reading at the end of the novel.
Start the quest

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A unique digital asset stored on a blockchain, representing ownership or proof of authenticity of a specific digital or physical item, often used for digital art, collectibles, or in gaming