2025: The New Digital Currency Paradigm

By Dr. Justin Lacche, MBA, PMP, ΑΚΨ (PhD Student, USA)

Saturday, June 21, 2025.

It’s the first day of summer break for Amber Jenkins; the now incoming freshman at a Portland, Oregon high school has one hour to shop for herself, before meeting back up with her family for lunch at Pioneer Courthouse Square.

It's the first summer since the pandemic when the Rose City feels completely open for business again.

Amber still wears a protective mask while shopping: These days it is a matter of personal choice. Amber heads to her favorite fashion apparel store with her entire game plan ready on her smartphone.

Amber’s parents and grandparents rewarded her for another year of good grades. Amber asked for the new digital currency "OksanaCoin" launched by her favorite influencer, Oksana O. Ohlsen.

In reality, OksanaCoin was created by the official representation firm that signed the influencer; but Oksana O. Ohlsen is as tied to the digital currency as any other type of endorsement. At the streaming coverage of her ICO (initial coin offering), Oksana told her fans, “OksanaCoin represents diversity, empowerment and equality. When you use OksanaCoin, make sure it is only for purchases you feel represent these principles. After all, you all are OksanaCoin, so make it something you all are proud of.”

Digital currency isn’t as mainstream as the dollar; but by 2025 it is the most lucrative and growing form of social media on Earth. Celebrities lend their name to new digital currencies and partner with companies they endorse to at least accept a percentage of purchases with their specific digital currency. In 2025, instead of being on Mount Olympus because of social media followers, those who have the most commercially viable, legally sanctioned and stable digital currencies are the new A-listers.

Social media are common venues where the Ambers of the world vote for their favorite digital currencies based on what they feel it means to the Deconomy and the equality of economic opportunity for all.

Oksana O. Ohlsen also is sponsored by Amber’s favorite fashion brand, and the company honors OksanaCoin as a form of payment. Amber knows this because the company app updates real-time both the digital currencies they accept, and at what exchange rate they will accept it at on a given moment.

This is the norm in the year 2025 because of the volatility of digital currencies. The new standard is for digital currencies a retailer does honor, the retailer accepts it at 96 percent the market value at the time of purchase. Larger retailers usually limit the percent of purchase to 20 percent paid by digital currencies – these both are ways industries are building the muscle to have digital currencies part of their standard operational and accounting models.

Looking at the math: if Amber wants to buy a pair of socks and a shirt for a total of $100, the fashion store would allow her to pay $20 of that with OksanaCoin. If one OksanaCoin is worth 25 cents USD that means Amber can spend up to 80 OksanaCoin towards the purchase ($20/.25).

Since the company also has a 4 percent “mark up” in accepting cryptocurrency, Amber would spend 83.2 OksanaCoin ($20.8/.25).

This workflow is what is known to everyone in 2025 as the Deconomy: the growing mainstream acceptance of decentralized digital currencies.

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Amber is welcomed by the customer specialist at the store, who knew Amber was coming because the notification Amber sent from her app and the AI style advice forwarded with Amber's approval. Amber has a profile and purchasing history on file; because she is a minor, there are more limited data points shared -- all of which Amber's parents have access to by virtue of pairing functionality the app provides.

This app also shared that Amber intends to spend the maximum allowed purchase using OksanaCoin, and the checkout/purchase algorithm is already set for the next hour, provided Amber chooses to purchase anything.

The real-time shopping experience in the summer of 2025 is much less about having all the inventory centralized and more about the interactive customer experience. Stores like where Amber shops fully leverage Blockchain with retail partners, RFID, as well as, CDIH (certified decentralized inventory holders) to get customers what they need in a matter on minutes.

This offering still is more the norm in urban areas; stores in less densely populated areas either carry more inventory and/or have a more local/centralized inventory option and/or rely more on the offer of free 24-hour home delivery.

Amber enters the store and the sales specialist already has a private digital kiosk ready. Amber indicated in her profile sent she wants the total in-store experience to be no longer than 20 minutes, including checkout.

“Good to see you back, Amber. My name is Emma and it’s my pleasure to be helping you today,” the sales specialist said. “We have your profile loaded and ready to go, both for this season’s top colors, as well as, some potential fall styles that will be available for purchase in about six weeks.”

Shopping in 2025 is all about connecting the shopper, end-to-end, directly with the athlete and/or designer and/or fashion community it is a part of. Amber looks at a kiosk screen that has the complete clothing line of her favorite influencer, Oksana O. Ohlsen, with every possible color, proprietary fabric options and style combinations.

The life-size computer-generated image of Amber can turn 360 degrees, as well as, give Amber the option to toggle between the image of herself or Oksana O. Ohlsen in the same outfit combination of that moment.

Amber decides digitally on the shirt and socks to purchase Emma places an “intent to purchase” in the store tablet. The next step is for Amber to try on any of the store samples (3d printed in-store) before making a final decision. It also is in that moment that Emma learns the store has all the exact sizes, but not the shade of light blue socks in Amber’s size.

Emma’s analytics report this in microseconds because the integrated RFID and Blockchain functionality available in-store, which is also supported through backroom drones both perpetually reporting on available inventory, as well as, potential purchasing combinations based on the most prevalent shopping algorithms of the season in that particular city.

The plan is Amber will try on a darker shade, and if it fits and she wants to purchase it, the exact shade of lighter blue has been located one mile away with a retail partner. Emma knows this by using her Blockchain command center dashboard. The retail partner has been notified to be “ready” in case Amber locks in the purchase.

Amber likes the fit and asks Emma to place the order; Amber sends over an on-line coupon which Emma applies to the checkout landing page, which includes the 20 percent purchase via OksanaCoin.

“Your shirt will be here in about 8 minutes, and we’ll bag everything and have it ready for you in about 11 minutes. In the meantime, we have your image loaded to look at some draft fall styles,” Emma said.

“Sounds good,” Amber replies as she presses “authorize payment” on Emma’s template. The final particulars of the order are completed via the Blockchain and RFID integrated between the main store and retailer.

The store system also immediately converts OksanaCoin to USD to align its accounting.

Within 11 minutes, Amber is handed her entire purchase; receipt has been emailed to her and Amber even got some pictures emailed to her with the fall jogging outfit combinations she saw while waiting. Amber gave real-time fall e-sample feedback to the company including “the cut on the shoulders should fit smoother than the image currently shows.”

On the way out the door, Amber posts her new purchases on her social media adding that OksanaCoin went towards an outfit Amber will where her summer high school trip.?Oksana O. Ohlsen would ‘like’ the post later in the day.

Mission accomplished for Amber on her June 21, 2025 shopping experience. Now the hardest challenge would be convincing her father to try out the new vegan restaurant down the street.

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Dr. Justin Lacche, MBA, PMP, ΑΚΨ (PhD Student, USA) complete published works (click here).