St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard told reporters on Friday that cryptocurrencies will cause a significant shift in the U.S. financial system. In fact, at its current pace, the cryptocurrency revolution may end up normalizing non-uniform currency relations.

Within the modern nation-state system, it’s always been tradition that governments issue their own currencies. These sovereign currencies were backed by state power and issued by the country’s central bank. In almost every country in the world, competing currencies are banned in spaces other than foreign exchange markets. However, cryptocurrencies are forcing us to reconsider how we understand currency says St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard.