GETTY IMAGES/TWITTER Bitcoin price: Thomas Frey predicts crypto will replace 25 per cent of the world's currencies

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Expert forecasters say the advantages digital coins have over fiat currency could is likely to become the norm by 2030, especially in developing countries where access to financial services is limited. And now futurists say the meteoric rise, both in value and popularity, of digital currencies like Bitcoin have made them impossible to ignore. Futurologist Thomas Frey, who is scheduled to speak to the US Federal Reserve on the subject later this year, predicted cryptocurrencies will replace around a quarter of traditional currency by 2030. He told Time: “Cryptocurrency is very much here to stay.

Cryptocurrencies are going to displace roughly 25 per cent of national currencies by 2030 Thomas Frey

He added: “Cryptocurrencies are going to displace roughly 25 per cent of national currencies by 2030. “They’re just much more efficient, the way they run.” His prediction comes after a study by Goldman Sachs analysts released earlier this year suggested cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin could replace traditional currency in counties suffering from economic problems. In many developing countries citizens are faced with a lack of banks and other financial services, and currencies are often devalued by high inflation.

GETTY IMAGES IMF boss Christine Lagarde warned cryptocurrencies could post a threat to traditional banking

The report said cryptocurrencies could fill the gap and allow individuals to transfer funds without the need for financial infrastructure. Future forecaster Mr Frey, who previously spent 15 years as an engineer for IBM, said digital currencies like Bitcoin will become a major part of modern life because they are more efficient to move than fiat currency, which requires a bank to facilitate the transaction. Mr Frey cited Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, who said cryptocurrencies could one day pose a threat to central banks and international banking. This warning, Mr Frey said, was a clear signal their importance should not be underestimated.

More than £289billion ($400bn) across the world is already invested in cryptocurrencies. Of this total, £121billion ($168bn) is tied up in Bitcoin, £53bn ($73bn) in Etherum and £24bn ($33bn) in Ripple, according to CoinMarketCap. A fierce debate is still raging over whether these digital coins would be suitable as an actual currency since they are subject to volatile and unpredictable swings in value. But futurologists have predicted investors will continue to plough money into virtual currency, leading to “exponential” growth.

COINMARKETCAP Bitcoin has slumped in recent days

Cryptocurrency price: A year in charts Mon, March 12, 2018 Compare crypto currencies (Ripple, Bitcoin, Ethereum, LiteCoin) on value, market cap and supply for the past year Play slideshow coindesk.com 1 of 10 LiteCoin is going down with the market dip