'Sovereign' Blockchains Will Change Monetary Policy, Bank Paper Argues
A new research paper published by South Africa’s FirstRand Bank explores the world of central banks and blockchains, suggesting that the technology could usher in a "new epoch" of monetary oversight. Titled “The Advent of Crypto Banking”, the report examines the question of central bank-issued digital currencies, a topic that recently came to the fore when the European Central Bank announced this week that it was jointly exploring the concept in partnership with Japan’s central bank, the Bank of Japan. Those two institutions are expected to publish research of their own next....
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A research consultant for Canada's central bank has published a new research paper that envisions a world that has established a monetary standard based on bitcoin. The outcome, speculates author Warren Weber, would be a mix of good and bad in terms of impact on monetary policy. Weber writes: “A bitcoin standard would have two major benefits over current fiat money standards. One is that there would be greater price-level predictability due to the known, deterministic rate at which new bitcoins are created. A second is that the resources currently devoted to hedging against fluctuations in....
A recent paper authored by members of several universities, including Sydney and Macquarie, argues that recent changes in Ethereum monetary policy are making it a better store of value than bitcoin. The deflationary effect that the EIP-1559 proposal has caused in the issuance of the currency is said to be the main cause of this.
Ethereum in the Spotlight
A new paper released by members of Australian universities last month is putting the spotlight on Ethereum and its possible future as a store of value. The paper, titled “Better than Bitcoin? Can cryptocurrencies beat....
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has published a paper on virtual currencies in January 2016. The paper provides an exhaustive analysis of virtual currencies, covering everything from the basics, to legal and economic perspectives, and regulatory and policy changes among other topics. The paper distinguishes virtual currencies from other digital currencies by describing that “they differ from other digital currencies, such as e-money, which is a digital payment mechanism for (and denominated in) fiat currency. VCs, on the other hand, are not denominated in fiat currency and have their....
Taking into account that bitcoin could revolutionize the existing methods of payment, the Bank of England's "One Bank Research Agenda Discussion Paper" investigates the possibility of minting its own cryptocurrency. In fact, the discussion paper extends beyond the Bank of England's traditional scope to decode how a new introduced monetary policy could capitalize on the cryptocurrency technology to add value in environmental and life changing developments. Change of direction to the UK financial system? In January, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) strongly opposed to Chancellor George....
The Bank of England's top economist has suggested that a digital currency based on bitcoin could alleviate monetary policy problems. Andrew Haldane, the UK central bank's chief economist and executive director for monetary analysis and statistics, spoke at the Portadown Chamber of Commerce in Northern Ireland on 18th September. During his speech, Haldane offered several ways in which central bankers can conduct monetary policy during a period when interest rates are close to or below zero. Haldane suggested that central bankers consider making measures like quantitative easing a permanent....