Swiss Economicblogs.org
The European Financial Review, February-March 2017. HTML, PDF. See the VoxEU article.
Read More »Digital Gold – For Now Caveat Emptor
Digital Gold On The Blockchain - For Now Caveat Emptor - Bitcoin surpasses gold price - a psychological and arbitrary headline - Royal Mint blockchain gold asks you to trust in the UK government - Royal Canadian Mint and GoldMoney blockchain product asks you to trust in government and the technology, servers, websites etc of the providers - Invest in a gold mine using cryptocurrency - but wait until 2022 for your gold and trust the miners that it is there - Blockchain and gold will...
Read More »Vollgeld, the Blockchain, and the Future of the Monetary System
Presentation at the Liechtenstein Institute about the Vollgeld initiative, the blockchain revolution, and their possible effects on banks and the monetary system. Report in Liechtensteiner Vaterland, February 1, 2017. HTML. Interview in Wirtschaft Regional, February 4, 2017. PDF.
Read More »Krypto Currencies and Privacy
On Wired, Andy Greenberger discusses Monero, Dash, and Zcash, krypto currencies that provide more privacy than bitcoin and its derivatives. Unlike commercial services like PayPal, Bitcoin allows anyone to spend money online without providing identifying details. But if someone’s Bitcoin address is linked with their real identity, any transaction from that address is entirely visible on the public blockchain … Hiding those transactions requires taking extra steps, like routing bitcoins...
Read More »“Wer hat Angst vor Blockchain? (Who’s Afraid of the Blockchain?),” NZZ, 2016
NZZ, November 29, 2016. HTML, PDF. Central banks are increasingly interested in employing blockchain technologies, and they should be. The blockchain threatens the intermediation business. Central banks encounter the blockchain in the form of new krypto currencies, and as the technology underlying new clearing and settlement systems. Krypto currencies bear the risk of “dollarization,” but in the major currency areas this risk is still small. New clearing and settlement systems benefit...
Read More »“Bitcoin May Have Implications for Monetary Policy,” LSE Business Review, 2016
The LSE Business Review (apparently) has published my VoxEU article.
Read More »“Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, and Central Banks: Opportunity or Threat?,” World Economic Forum, 2016
The Word Economic Forum (apparently) has published my VoxEU article.
Read More »“Central Banking and Bitcoin: Not yet a Threat,” VoxEU, 2016
VoxEU, October 19, 2016. HTML. Central banks are increasingly interested in employing blockchain technologies. The blockchain threatens the intermediation business. Central banks encounter the blockchain in the form of new krypto currencies, and as the technology underlying new clearing and settlement systems. Krypto currencies bear the risk of “dollarization,” but in the major currency areas this risk is still small. New clearing and settlement systems benefit from central bank...
Read More »“Blockchain – Todesurteil oder Wunderwaffe der Notenbanken? (Blockchain – How Does it Affect Central Banks?),” SRF, 2016
SRF, October 8, 2016. Link to MP3. Excerpts from discussion about the role of the blockchain technology for central banking.
Read More »How Does the Blockchain Transform Central Banking?
The blockchain technology opens up new possibilities for financial market participants. It allows to get rid of middle men and thus, to save cost, speed up clearing and settlement (possibly lowering capital requirements), protect privacy, avoid operational risks and improve the bargaining position of customers. Internet based technologies have rendered it cheap to collect information and to network. This lies at the foundation of business models in the “sharing economy.” It also lets...
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