In the world of cryptocurrency, Catholic USD – a recently developed fiat-backed stablecoin – immediately stands out, and not just because of its name.
Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin became popular after the 2008 financial crisis as an alternative to government-backed currencies and traditional financial institutions. Cryptocurrency bypasses the need for brick-and-mortar banks by verifying transactions through a cryptographic process in which ‘blocks’ of digital records are chained together, known as a ‘blockchain.’
For many, cryptocurrency has become a lucrative investment opportunity. Eddie Cullen, the businessman who is helping to spearhead the launch of Catholic USD, wants to bring the benefits of the new technology to the poor.
“We have to make sure the poor and human suffering is the thing we’re focused on at all times first,” Cullen told the Register. “Treating the poor like Jesus Christ would – that has to be the first priority.”
Catholic USD, which was scheduled to launch in December, is a type of cryptocurrency that is pegged to a national currency or asset like gold that is known as a stablecoin. In this case, one Catholic USD is equivalent to one U.S. dollar. Cullen envisions Catholic USD as a means of sending donations to parishes, Catholic universities, hospitals, and nonprofits working with the poor and others in need. It is especially useful for international transactions because of its speed and ability to verify the funds are being used for their intended purpose, thanks to the blockchain technology underpinning it.
Matthew Pinto, the founder of Ascension Press and organizer of the first-ever Catholic cryptocurrency conference in 2022, said the Church should approach new technologies with hopeful openness.
“Catholics need to understand most every new technology to understand its ramifications on the human person and how we live in, and engage, the world,” Pinto said in an interview with the Register.
“As Catholics, I think our first response should be one of hopeful expectation that God is doing something unique, in this new technology, and within his plan of salvation. To be sure, we should exhibit prudence in these discernments, but our posture should be one of hope first.”
While cryptocurrency use and ownership tends to be dominated by younger men, a group of Catholics nuns have been among the earliest to adopt it in the Church. Members of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles learned how to set up digital wallets in order to receive bitcoin donations for their new chapel in southern Missouri, according to a report in Bitcoin Magazine.
“Currently, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not extensively used in the Catholic Church today. A relatively small, but growing, number of Catholic organizations are now accepting Bitcoin for donations, which is a good first step to greater and more varied adoption,” said Devin Rose, a Catholic Bitcoiner and author of a cryptocurrency-themed fiction thriller series. “Every parish, diocese, and Catholic organization should set themselves up to receive Bitcoin for donations.”
Rose told the Register that Catholics who have invested in bitcoin want to tithe their profits to the Church, but when donors have to first convert their bitcoin into dollars, it reduces the amount that can be donated. Parishes, schools, and other organizations that are set up to receive Bitcoin, however, can receive the full value of the contribution, Rose noted.
But cryptocurrency advocates say that transmitting money for donations only scratches the surface of the new technology’s potential for the Church.
For example, all Catholic USD stablecoins that aren’t being used for transactions will be held in a yield-generating account on BitGo, an asset management platform. Unlike a bank, Cullen plans to donate 100 percent of the yield to the Catholic Global Mercy Trust, which would disburse the funds to global poverty relief efforts, Catholic schools, hospitals, and other causes.
If Catholic USD reaches $1 billion in circulation that would mean $40 million in annual charitable giving, according to a slideshow presentation provided by Cullen.
Like Cullen and Pinto, Brantly Millegan, who has been active in the Ethereum cryptocurrency community, is optimistic about the new technology and the promise it holds for the Church. “The Catholic tradition sees invention and the development of technology as an expression of divine spark in humanity, and so I’m fundamentally optimistic about new technology,” Millegan told the Register. “Further, helping the poor is, of course, a key tenet of Catholic social thought, and I already see crypto opening opportunities for the disenfranchised and unbanked globally to more financial services that we take for granted in the US.”
Behind Bitcoin and cryptocurrency is a broader philosophical stance on what form of money is best for society.
Eric Sammons, editor of Crisis Magazine and author of a book on bitcoin, argues that bitcoin is “the most moral money ever created.”
All currency, according to Sammons, has seven properties, three of which impact its morality – verifiability, scarcity, and independence. According to his book, Moral Money: The Case for Bitcoin, currency must be verifiable so people can trust it; scarcity secures its value and guards against inflation; and there must be independence to prevent control by a small group or single institution which creates the risk of corruption.
“Modern fiat money” — a type of government-issued currency — “fails tremendously in at least scarcity and independence, whereas gold and silver are far better at those characteristics, although they are not as good at verifiability,” Sammons told the Register. “However, bitcoin exceeds fiat, gold, and silver in its verifiability (a transaction can be fully verified in seconds), scarcity (there is a hard limit of 21 million bitcoin ever created), and independence (bitcoin runs on a decentralized network controlled by no individual or organization).”
For Cullen, Catholic USD ensures the emerging, digitally decentralized financial system adheres to a paramount moral imperative: putting humanity first.
“Because if we don’t, then we’re going to lose who we are,” Cullen said.
While many new technologies, from bioengineering to the new AI programs, have prompted concerns over potential risks to the dignity of the human person, Cullen sees cryptocurrency and blockchain technology as an opportunity to improve upon existing financial systems that can be dehumanizing at times.
“I don’t need another bank that’s going to take all the profits from the poor,” Cullen said. “I need something that is going to alleviate human suffering – people that need shelter, that need water, that need food.”