Abstract
The modern day society driven by a variety of electronic devices and high-speed internet is changing its perception and practice of paper currency, mode of economic and financial transactions, and so on. The usage of cash is increasingly reducing because of the ease of payments facilitated by cards, mobile phone apps and contact-less chips, online payment systems, etc. Furthermore, cryptotokens (cryptocurrencies), such as bitcoin, have fueled the interest of society and policymakers in investigating the usefulness and limitations of a central bank-backed electronic fiat currency. Also, blockchain/distributed ledger technology, the technology enabling the cryptotokens, has gained a lot of attention from almost all the sections of the society for its ability in providing a decentralized transaction verification process while maintaining the features similar to the traditional cash currency. This chapter presents an overview of the concepts and potential features, potential primary models of issuing electronic fiat currency, as well as the key design principles from a technical perspective and a high-level architecture of a central bank-backed electronic fiat currency. We present the key aspects of currency in modern society, the advancements in the field of financial technologies and how could these be harnessed to launch a central bank-backed electronic fiat currency. We also discuss the position of various central banks and governments on cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology, and the initiatives related to issuing electronic fiat currency.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
R. Agarwal, M. Kimball, Breaking through the zero lower bound. Technical Report (International Monetary Fund, 2015)
Agencia EFE, Uruguayan Central Bank to test digital currency (2017). https://www.efe.com/efe/english/business/uruguayan-central-bank-to-test-digital-currency/50000265-3385232
D. Andolfatto, Fedcoin: on the desirability of a government cryptocurrency (2015). http://andolfatto.blogspot.com/2015/02/fedcoin-on-desirability-of-government.html
Argaam, Six Saudi, UAE Banks to participate in digital currency project (2019). https://www.argaam.com/en/article/articledetail/id/593036
Banco Central del Uruguay, El BCU present un plan piloto para la emisin de billetes digitales (2017). English Translation https://www.bcu.gub.uy/Comunicaciones/Paginas/Billete_Digital_Piloto.aspx
Bank of Thailand (BOT) Press Release, Announcement of project Inthanon collaborative partnership (Wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency) (2018). No. 54/2018. https://www.bot.or.th/Thai/PressandSpeeches/Press/News2561/n5461e.pdf
C. Barontini, H. Holden, Proceeding with caution a survey on central bank digital currency. Technical Report. BIS Papers No. 101 (Monetary and Economic Department, Bank for International Settlements, 2019)
BBC, Salt blocks used as currency (2014), Contributed by Powell Cotton Museum Archives http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/vDn91YroQr-CC4OpxxEtDw
BBVA, What is the difference between DLT and blockchain? (2018). https://www.bbva.com/en/difference-dlt-blockchain/
M.L. Bech, R. Garratt, Central bank cryptocurrencies. BIS Quarterly Review. Bank for International Settlements (2017)
Ben Broadbent, Deputy Governor for monetary policy of the Bank of England, Central banks and digital currencies (2016). https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/speech/2016/central-banks-and-digital-currencies
W. Bertsch, The use of tea bricks as currency among the Tibetans. Tibet J. 34(2), 35–80 (2009)
F. Black, A gold standard with double feedback and near zero reserves, in Business Cycles and Equilibrium (Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1987)
M. Bordo, The gold standard: the traditional approach, in A Retrospective on the Classical Gold Standard, 1821–1931 (University of Chicago Press, USA, 1984)
M.D. Bordo, A.T. Levin, Central bank digital currency and the future of monetary policy. Technical Report (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2017)
J. Buchanan, Predictability: the criterion of monetary constitutions, in Search of a Monetary Constitution (Harvard University Press, USA, 1962), pp. 155–183
J. Buck, President Maduro: Venezuela to issue first 100 million petros (2018). https://cointelegraph.com/news/president-maduro-venezuela-to-issue-first-100-million-petros
BUSINESS WIRE, eCurrency Mint Limited and Banque Rgionale De Marchs launch new digital currency in Senegal (2016). https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161103006949/en/eCurrency-Mint-Limited-Banque-R%C3%A9gionale-De-March
BUSINESS WIRE, Wipro, R3 build blockchain-based solution prototype to power digital currency in Thailand (2019),. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190507005443/en/Wipro-R3-Build-Blockchain-Based-Solution-Prototype-Power
P. Cagan, A compensated dollar: better or more likely than gold?, in The Search for Stable Money: Essays on Monetary Reform (University of Chicago Pres, USA, 1987)
M. Chakchouk, Blockchain in Tunisia: from experimentations to a challenging commercial launch, in ITU Workshop on Security Aspects of Blockchain Geneva, Switzerland, 21 March 2017 (2017)
G. Chavez-Dreyfuss, Marshall Islands to issue own sovereign cryptocurrency (2018). https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crypto-currencies-marshall-islands/marshall-islands-to-issue-own-sovereign-cryptocurrency-idUSKCN1GC2UD
CoinMarketCap, All cryptocurrencies (2019). https://coinmarketcap.com/all/views/all/
B. Cur, J. Loh, Central bank digital currencies. resreport, Committee on payments and market infrastructures, markets committee, bank for international settlements (2018). https://www.bis.org/cpmi/publ/d174.pdf
Dave, Salt: Ethiopias white gold (2016). http://davehoggan.com/white-gold/
Deloitte and Monetary Authority of Singapore, The future is here—project Ubin: SGD on distributed ledger. techreport, Monetary Authority of Singapore (2017)
A.E. Dien, Six Dynasties Civilization (Yale University Press, USA, 2007)
J. Dorn, Monetary Alternatives: Rethinking Government Fiat Money (Cato Press, Washington DC, USA, 2017)
J. Dorn, A. Schwartz, The Search for Stable Money: Essays on Monetary Reform (University of Chicago Press, USA, 1987)
E.D. Earthy, The social structure of a Gbande Town, Liberia. Man, 203–205 (1936)
ECCB, ECCB to issue worlds first blockchain-based digital currency (2019). https://www.eccb-centralbank.org/news/view/eccb-to-issue-worldas-first-blockchain-based-digital-currency
W. Engert, B.S.C. Fung, Central bank digital currency: motivations and implications. resreport, Bank of Canada. Staff Discussion Paper/Document danalyse du personnel 2017–16 (2017)
European Central Bank, Directorate General Communications, ECB ends production and issuance of 500 banknote (2016). https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2016/html/pr160504.en.html
Financial Times, Singapore sounds cautious note on cryptocurrencies (2018). https://www.ft.com/content/2d433cda-f54e-11e7-8715-e94187b3017e
I. Fisher, A compensated dollar. Q. J. Econ. 27(2), 213–235 (1913)
M. Friedman, A Program for Monetary Stability (Fordham Press, New York, USA, 1960)
M. Friedman, The island of stone money. resreport E-91-3, The Hoover Institution, Stanford University. Working Paper in Economics (1991)
C.L.C. Gillilland, The stone money of yap: a numismatic survey. resreport 23, Smithsonian Studies in History and Technology (1975)
D. Goldberg, Famous myths of “Fiat Money”. J. Money Credit. Bank., 957–967 (2005)
E. Green, Some challenges for research in payment systems, in The Future of Payment Systems (Routhledge Publishers, Milton Park, 2008)
R. Grey, J. Dharmapalan, The macroeconomic policy implications of digital fiat currency. Technical Report. The Case for Digital Legal Tender’ Paper Series (eCurrency Mint, Ltd.) (2017). ISBN: 978-0692849651
M. Gupta, Blockchain for Dummies, IBM Limited edn. (Wiley, 2017)
F.A. Hayek, Denationalisation of Money—The Argument Refined: An Analysis of the Theory and Practice of Concurrent Currencies, 3rd edn. (The Institute of Economic Affairs, London, UK, 1990)
T. Hirst, What is helicopter money? (2015). https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/08/what-is-helicopter-money/
HM Treasury, Digital currencies: response to the call for information. Technical Report (HM Treasury, 2015)
M. Huillet, Iran: model of state-issued digital currency now ready, says govt minister (2018). https://cointelegraph.com/news/iran-model-of-state-issued-digital-currency-now-ready-says-govt-minister
Imperial Tea Garden, Tea money (2018). https://www.imperialteagarden.com/blogs/tea/tea-money
Indo-Asian News Service, Abolish Rs 500, 1,000 notes to curb black money: Chandrababu Naidu (2016). https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/abolish-500-1000-notes-black-money-chandrababu-naidu-346215-2016-10-12
International Monetary Fund, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Technical Report. IMF Country Report No. 18/270 (International Monetary Fund, 2018)
ITU News, ITU and Stanford University to launch new partnership supporting pilots of digital fiat currency (2019). https://news.itu.int/itu-stanford-university-launch-new-partnership-supporting-pilots-digital-fiat-currency/
W. Jack, T. Suri, Mobile money: the economics of m-pesa. Working paper 16721, National Bureau of Economic Research (2011). https://doi.org/10.3386/w16721, http://www.nber.org/papers/w16721
W. Jevons, A tabular standard of value, in Money and the Mechanism of Exchange (Appleton, New York, 1875)
C. Jia, Central bank unveils plan on digital currency (2019). http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201907/09/WS5d239217a3105895c2e7c56f.html
J.P. Koning, Approaches to a central bank digital currency in Brazil. resreport, R3 LLC (2018)
J. Koning, Why the fed is more likely to adopt bitcoin technology than kill it off (2013). http://jpkoning.blogspot.com/2013/04/why-fed-is-more-likely-to-adopt-bitcoin.html
J. Koning, Fedcoin (2014). http://jpkoning.blogspot.com/2014/10/fedcoin.html
J. Koning, Fedcoin: a central bank-issued cryptocurrency. resreport (2016)
R. Krygier, Venezuela launches the petro, its cryptocurrency (2018). https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/02/20/venezuela-launches-the-petro-its-cryptocurrency
C. Lagarde, Winds of change: the case for new digital currency (2018). IMF Managing Director, Speech at Singapore Fintech Festival. https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2018/11/13/sp111418-winds-of-change-the-case-for-new-digital-currency
S. Liao, The Marshall Islands replaces the US dollar with its own cryptocurrency (2018). https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/23/17384608/marshall-islands-cryptocurrency-us-dollar-usd-currency
C. Look, European authorities stop printing high-value 500-euro notes (2019). https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-26/european-authorities-stop-printing-high-value-500-euro-notes
T. Mancini Griffoli, M.S. Martinez Peria, I. Agur, A. Ari, J. Kiff, A. Popescu, C. Rochon, Casting light on central bank digital currencies. Technical Report (International Monetary Fund, 2018)
N.G. Mankiw, Brief Principles of Macroeconomics (Cengage Learning, 2014)
J.J. Mark, Heraclitus of Ephesus (2010). https://www.ancient.eu/Heraclitus_of_Ephesos/
A. Marshall, Remedies for fluctuations of general prices. Contemp. Rev. 51, 355–375 (1887)
Republic of the Marshall Islands, Declaration and Issuance of the Sovereign Currency Act 2018 (2018). https://rmiparliament.org/cms/images/LEGISLATION/PRINCIPAL/2018/2018-0053/DeclarationandIssuanceoftheSovereignCurrencyAct2018_1.pdf
Y. Mersch, Digital base money: an assessment from the ecb’s perspective. Speech at the Bank of Finland (2017)
Mojmr Hampl, Vice-Governor, Czech National Bank: a digital currency useful for central banks?, in 7th BBVA Seminar for Public Sector Investors and Issuers, Bilbao (2018). https://www.cnb.cz/en/public/media-service/speeches-conferences-seminars/speeches/a-digital-currency-useful-for-central-banks/
S. Mossavar-Rahmani, B. Nelson, M. Weir, M. Minov, A. Ubid, F. Asl, M. Dib, M.C. Rich, (Un)Steady as she goes. Outlook, Investment Management Division, Goldman Sachs (2018). https://www.goldmansachs.com/what-we-do/investment-management/private-wealth-management/intellectual-capital/isg-outlook-2018.pdf
M. Motamedi, Iran’s Central Bank issues draft rules on cryptocurrency (2019). https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/iran-central-bank-issues-draft-rules-cryptocurrency-190129051653656.html
S. Motamedi, Will bitcoins ever become money? A path to decentralized central banking (2014). https://tannutuva.org/2014/will-bitcoins-ever-become-money-a-path-to-decentralized-central-banking/
S. Nakamoto et al., Bitcoin: a peer-to-peer electronic cash system (2008)
N. Nathan, Time to withdraw Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes (2016). https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/blogs/counter-point/time-to-withdraw-rs-500-and-rs-1000-currency-notes/
D. Nationalbank, Central bank digital currency in Denmark? techreport 28, Danmarks Nationalbank (2017)
M. Nikolova, Dutch fin regulator retains critical stance regarding central bank digital currency (2018). https://financefeeds.com/dutch-fin-regulator-retains-critical-stance-regarding-central-bank-digital-currency/
Norges Bank, Central bank digital currencies. resreport, Norges Bank (2018), Norges Bank Papers NO1 | 2018
D. Patinkin, Irving fisher and his compensated dollar plan. Fed. Reserv. Bank Richmond Econ. Q. 79(3), 1 (1993)
R.M. Poole, The tiny island with human-sized money (2018). http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20180502-the-tiny-island-with-human-sized-money
Press Information Bureau, Government of India, Ministry of Finance, With a view to curb financing of terrorism through the proceeds of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) and use of such funds for subversive activities, and for eliminating Black Money, Government decides to cancel the legal tender character of the High Denomination bank notes of Rs.500 and Rs.1000 from the expiry of the 8th November, 2016 (2016). http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=153406
A.H. Quiggin, A Survey of Primitive Money: The Beginning of Currency, 1st edn. (Routledge, 2018)
O. Rinaldi, E. Lam, Bitcoin is approaching its highest price of 2019 (2019). https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-10/bitcoin-renaissance-gains-momentum-as-year-s-high-back-in-sight
K.S. Rogoff, The Curse of Cash (Princeton University Press, 2016)
P. Sands, Making it harder for the bad guys: the case for eliminating high denomination notes. Technical Report 52, Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, Harvard Kennedy School, USA. M-RCBG Associate Working Paper Series (2016)
J.A. Schumpeter, History of Economic Analysis (Allen & Unwin (Publishers) Ltd, 1954)
P. Semler, Kabul, Tunis in sovereign crypto bond race (2019). https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/04/article/kabul-tunis-in-sovereign-crypto-bond-race/
S. Shirai, Money and central bank digital currency. ADBI Working Paper Series, Asian Development Bank Institute, Tokyo (922) (2019)
E. Smart, Tunisia becomes first nation to put nations currency on a blockchain (2015). https://dcebrief.com/tunisia-becomes-first-nation-to-put-nations-currency-on-a-blockchain/
South African Reserve Bank, Procurement Division, Expression of interest, request for expression of interest from propsective solution providers in anticipation of a feasibiity project for the issuance of electronic legal tender—a central bank digital currency issued and backed by the South African Reserve Bank (2019). EOI Number: MR01/2019-0
L.H. Summers, Its time to kill the 100 bill (2016). https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/16/its-time-to-kill-the-100-bill
Sveriges Riksbank, The Riksbanks e-Krona project. resreport Report 1, Sveriges Riksbank (2017)
Sveriges Riksbank, The Riksbanks e-Krona Project Action Plan for 2018. techreport, Sveriges Riksbank (2017)
Sveriges Riksbank, The Riksbanks e-Krona Project. resreport Report No. 2, Sveriges Riksbank (2018)
The Economic Times, Draft law proposes 10-year jail term for dealing in cryptocurrency (2019). https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/finance/draft-law-proposes-10-year-jail-term-for-dealing-in-cryptocurrency/articleshow/69693984.cms
The Economist, The promise of the blockchain: the trust machine (2015). https://www.economist.com/leaders/2015/10/31/the-trust-machine
The Editorial Board, The New York Times, Getting rid of big currency notes could help fight crime (2016). https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/22/opinion/getting-rid-of-big-currency-notes-could-help-fight-crime.html
The Law Library of Congress, Global Legal Research Center, Regulation of cryptocurrency around the world. resreport, The Law Library of Congress, Global Legal Research Center, USA (2018)
A. Ulmer, D. Buitrago, Enter the ‘petro’: Venezuela to launch oil-backed cryptocurrency (2017). https://in.reuters.com/article/venezuela-economy/enter-the-petro-venezuela-to-launch-oil-backed-cryptocurrency-idINKBN1DY081
WAM/Rasha Abubaker, Saudi-Emirati Powerhouse Announces 7 Joint Initiatives in Vital Sectors (2019). http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302733616
O. Ward, S. Rochemont, An addendum to “A Cashless Society—Benefits, Risks and Issues (Interim paper)” Understanding Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). resreport, Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, UK (2019)
M. Wendorf, What do bitcoin and Tulip Mania have in common? (2019). https://interestingengineering.com/what-do-bitcoin-and-tulip-mania-have-in-common
K. Wicksell, Interest and Prices: A Study of the Causes Regulating the Value of Money (Gustav Fischer Press, Sweden, 1898)
Wikipediam, List of cryptocurrencies (2019). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cryptocurrencies
O. Williams-Grut, GOLDMAN SACHS: ‘The Blockchain can change... well everything’ (2015). https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-the-blockchain-can-change-well-everything-2015-12
World Economic Forum, Deep shift: technology tipping points and societal impact. techreport REF 31081, Global Agenda Council on the Future of Software & Society, World Economic Forum (2015)
A. Zmudzinski, Four Iranian banks support gold-backed cryptocurrency (2019). urlhttps://cointelegraph.com/news/four-iranian-banks-support-gold-backed-cryptocurrency
M.J. Zuckerman, Iran and Russia discuss transacting in crypto to avoid international sanctions (2018). https://cointelegraph.com/news/iran-and-russia-discuss-transacting-in-crypto-to-avoid-international-sanctions
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Pandey, P., Katsikas, S. (2021). The Future of Money: Central Bank Issued Electronic Money. In: Tsihrintzis, G., Virvou, M. (eds) Advances in Core Computer Science-Based Technologies. Learning and Analytics in Intelligent Systems, vol 14. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41196-1_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41196-1_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-41195-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-41196-1
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)
