Crypto scandal shows church needed in tech conversation, says entrepreneur

By Gina Christian, OSV News

(OSV News) -- The recent collapse of a major cryptocurrency exchange proves the Catholic Church must "begin a conversation" on such technologies, a Catholic author and entrepreneur told OSV News.

"The whole question of blockchain, cryptocurrency, Web 3.0 and NFT needs to be on our radar," said Matthew Pinto, founder of Ascension Press (now Ascension) and the nonprofit finance firm The Genesis Group, both based in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Pinto said the potential of emerging financial technologies eludes many Catholics, which is why he wants to "bring this question to the church."

In November 2022, Pinto hosted a two-day Catholic Crypto Conference in suburban Philadelphia, an event that drew some 300 in-person and online attendees. More than 25 experts from a variety of disciplines shared their perspectives on the relationship between technology, finance, faith and pastoral ministry.

Among the conference speakers were Father Andrew Pinsent, research director of the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion at Oxford University, and Andrew Abela, founding dean of the Busch School of Business and a professor of marketing at The Catholic University of America.

The conference coincided with the high-profile implosion of FTX, at one point the world's third-largest cryptocurrency exchange with a valuation of $32 billion. The company, led by 30-year-old founder Sam Bankman-Fried, initiated bankruptcy proceedings Nov. 11, 2022, following revelations it had diverted funds to its partner trading firm, Alameda Research. Bankman-Fried was arrested in December and will be tried in October on federal charges of conspiracy, fraud, money laundering and campaign finance offenses.

The timing of the scandal was actually "providential" for conference participants since it "proved the need" for the gathering, Pinto told OSV News.

"Catholics, like any other consumers, will ask questions such as 'What is this? What does it mean to me?'" he said. "And what better place to address that … than with fellow Catholics who want to explore these issues?"

Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson Pérez echoed that viewpoint in his welcome letter to conference attendees, writing that "if we are properly informed, we can approach technological advancements with formed consciences, and embrace them as tools for the advancement of Missionary Discipleship."

Yet getting Catholics to reflect on how their faith can help shape such technologies can be akin to "pushing boulders up a hill," said Pinto. "It's like me asking someone in 1995 if the church would be intrigued by the idea of what the internet might deliver. (Many) would have looked askance in the beginning."

Part of the hesitation can be traced to a basic unfamiliarity with -- or confusion about -- the new technologies. Since its 1989 invention by British scientist Tim Berners-Lee, the web has given rise to an often bewildering ecosystem for exchanging information and services.

Now, Web 3.0 (sometimes confused with "metaverse," a term coined by author Neal Stephenson to describe an immersive virtual reality) seeks to bypass banks and other institutions, enabling users to transact digital assets without third-party involvement.

The concept rests on blockchain, the technology that underpins cryptocurrency, which
relies on encryption algorithms (which securely encode data), functioning as both a form of payment and a virtual accounting system.

Satoshi Nakamoto (whose actual identity remains unknown) introduced blockchain in a 2008 white paper proposing Bitcoin as a "peer-to-peer electronic cash system." With transactions recorded in a ledger across networked computers, timestamps create a "proof-of-work" that forms a record of transactions and transmits them through the network.

Blockchain also forms the basis of NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, whose unique, non-replicable values can serve as a means of authenticating tangible assets, such as artwork, real estate -- and even sacramental records, said Pinto.

"Any time the church has a record or a piece of data that is immutable, then the idea of locking that on a blockchain becomes important," he said.

Pinto noted the church could also use cryptocurrency to "play a big role in assisting the (world's) unbanked population," which the World Bank estimated to total some 1.4 billion adults as of July 2022.

Such brainstorming is just a beginning, Pinto added, stressing his goal was to ensure these technologies were leveraged for the human good -- something Pope St. Paul VI urged in his 1967 encyclical "Populorum Progressio," where he declared that "economics and technology are meaningless if they do not benefit man, for it is he they are to serve."

Pinto said he believes Catholics are slowly becoming more proactive in their response to new technologies.

"In the past 30 to 40 years, lay people (in particular) have started to get comfortable with the idea," he said. "The church needs to be here now, rather than eight to 10 years from now."