CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCIES: ARE YOU READY?

摘要

AS SOMEONE WHO HAS WATCHED crypto-assets and cryptocurrencies rise and fall, and rise and fall, and rise and - well, you get the idea - over the past decade, it intrigues me that we are now reaching some form of respectability and understanding. I've never been a fan of unregulated currencies and markets but, at the same time, I knew that these emerging digital markets would eventually become regulated - and now they are. We have regulated exchanges and even regulated funds, but regulated currencies have still been a way away, until now. Now, central banks worldwide are rushing to create central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The idea is to replace dirty bank notes that transmit viruses, like Covid-19, with a digital equivalent. The pandemic has ignited these efforts in 2020, and turbo-charged a rush to experimentation.