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Journal Article
Technological Change and Central Banking
The decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) represents a radically new way to manage databases. Since money and payments are all about managing databases and since banks play a central role in money and payments, DAO-based money and payments systems are potentially a disruptive force in the banking system—which includes central banks. One would normally expect regulatory frameworks to evolve with a changing technological landscape. However, the decentralized governance structure characteristic of DAOs renders it near impossible to regulate these entities directly—a property that makes ...
Journal Article
Unstable Coins: The Early History of Central Bank Analog Currencies
Recently, there has been much discussion as to whether central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) should be introduced, and if so, how they should be designed. This article offers a historical perspective on this discussion, with a survey of early public bank (proto-central bank) "analog currencies"—circulating banknotes. Public banknotes were an experimental product when they were first issued in sixteenth-century Naples, but by the late nineteenth century, such notes could be found in most European countries. In between came all sorts of implementation difficulties: egregious insider fraud, ...
Discussion Paper
Stimulus, Savings, and Inflation: The Top Five Liberty Street Economics Posts of 2021
New York Fed researchers tackled a wide array of topics on Liberty Street Economics (LSE) over the past year, with the myriad effects of the pandemic—on supply chains, the banking system, and inequality, for example—remaining a major area of focus. Judging by the list below, LSE readers were particularly interested in understanding what comes next: the most-viewed posts of the year analyze households’ use of stimulus payments, the implications of lockdown-period savings, the risk of a new housing bubble, the compression of the breakeven inflation curve, and the potential roles that ...
Briefing
Intermediation and Bank Liquidity: A Conference Recap
How might a central bank digital currency alter banking system operations? What is the effect of credit easing on the dynamics of bank runs? Does increased competition among banks mean a more fragile banking system, and what can be done about it? These were among the research questions addressed by economists during a recent Richmond Fed research conference.
Journal Article
The Blockchain Revolution: Decoding Digital Currencies
Cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance have grown considerably since the publication of the white paper on bitcoin in 2009. This article presents an overview of cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology, and their applications, explaining the spirit of the enterprise and how it compares with traditional operations. We discuss money, digital money, and payments; cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and the double-spending problem of digital money; decentralized finance; and central bank digital currency.
Discussion Paper
Unstable Coins: The Early History of Central Bank Analog Currencies
Recently, there has been much discussion as to whether central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) should be introduced, and if so, how they should be designed. This article offers a historical perspective on this discussion, with a survey of early public bank (proto-central bank) "analog currencies"—circulating banknotes. Public banknotes were an experimental product when they were first issued in sixteenth-century Naples, but by the late nineteenth century, such notes could be found in most European countries. In between came all sorts of implementation difficulties: egregious insider fraud, ...
Working Paper
Central Bank Digital Currency: Central Banking for All?
The introduction of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) allows the central bank to engage in large-scale intermediation by competing with private financial interme-diaries for deposits. Yet, since a central bank is not an investment expert, it cannot invest in long-term projects itself, but relies on investment banks to do so. We derive an equivalence result that shows that absent a banking panic, the set of allocations achieved with private financial intermediation will also be achieved with a CBDC. Dur-ing a panic, however, we show that the rigidity of the central bank’s contract ...
Journal Article
Should the US Issue a Central Bank Digital Currency?
If the web 3.0 requires a public ledger–based payments platform, central bank digital currency (CBDC) is unlikely to provide the digital currency needed to fuel the smart contracts of tomorrow. This payments dilemma can be solved by a hybrid digital currency that includes a new type of bank deposit as well as regulated private stablecoins, both of which clear and settle on a next-generation public ledger created and managed as a joint venture between banks and private stablecoin issuers. With this payments platform under Federal Reserve oversight, there would be no need for the Federal ...
Journal Article
Digital Currency, Digital Payments, and the 'Last Mile' to the Unbanked
Digital forms of payment are either not accessible or highly costly for unbanked consumers. This is because these forms of payment must be "funded" by some source of money, such as cash or a bank account. That creates the "last-mile" problem for the unbanked. This article examines various solutions for the funding problem that have been proposed in the literature, by regulators, and in bills submitted to Congress.
Journal Article
Should the United States Issue a Central Bank Digital Currency? Lessons from Abroad
If the web 3.0 requires a public ledger–based payments platform, central bank digital currency (CBDC) is unlikely to provide the digital currency needed to fuel the smart contracts of tomorrow. This payments dilemma can be solved by a hybrid digital currency that includes a new type of bank deposit as well as regulated private stablecoins, both of which clear and settle on a next-generation public ledger created and managed as a joint venture between banks and private stablecoin issuers. With this payments platform under Federal Reserve oversight, there would be no need for the Federal ...