How Crypto and CBDCs Can Use Less Energy Than Existing Payment Systems
Environmentally conscious design can make a major difference in the energy efficiency of digital currencies.
Public and Private Money Can Coexist in the Digital Age
By Tobias Adrian and Tommaso Mancini-Griffoli
عربي, 中文, Español, Français, 日本語, Português, Русский
We value innovation and diversity—including in money. In the same day, we might pay by swiping a card, waving a phone, or clicking a mouse. Or we might hand over notes and coins, though in many countries increasingly less often. […]
Legally Speaking, is Digital Money Really Money?
By Catalina Margulis and Arthur Rossi
Countries are moving fast toward creating digital currencies. Or, so we hear from various surveys showing an increasing number of central banks making substantial progress towards having an official digital currency. […]
Central Bank Digital Currencies: 4 Questions and Answers
By Tobias Adrian and Tommaso Mancini-Griffoli
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) is a complex and multidisciplinary topic requiring active analysis and debate. […]
Five Facts on Fintech
By Tobias Adrian and Ceyla Pazarbasioglu
From artificial intelligence to mobile applications, technology helps to increase your access to secure and efficient financial products and services. […]
Addressing the Dark Side of the Crypto World
March 13, 2018
Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Français (French), baˈhasa indoneˈsia (Indonesian), 日本語 (Japanese), Português (Portuguese), Русский (Russian)
The same reason crypto-assets like Bitcoin are so appealing is also what makes them dangerous (iStock by GettyImages).
Whether Bitcoin’s value goes up or Bitcoin’s value goes down, people around the world are asking the same question: What exactly is the potential of crypto-assets?
The technology behind these assets—including blockchain—is an exciting advancement that could help revolutionize fields beyond finance. It could, for example, power financial inclusion by providing new, low-cost payment methods to those who lack bank accounts and in the process empower millions in low-income countries. […]
South Africa’s Lesetja Kganyago: Fintech Is a Central Banker’s Friend
By IMFBlog
January 26, 2018
Lesetja Kganyago, South Africa’s Central Bank Governor and Chairman of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (photo: IMF staff).
While central bankers are often seen as somewhat traditionalist, South Africa’s Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago is breaking that mold. Kganyago sees how new technology—or fintech—is transforming the financial sector, and in this podcast, he says there is no turning back. […]