Great to be included in “Cashless Talk” a special report by “The Economist.”
I confess that while I am delighted to have made it into the esteemed publication, I was somewhat surprised that over two hours of interviews were distilled into about four lines!
Still, it is a great honor to be included as one of the thought leaders in the sector!
The entire multipart series on the future of money is a great read and can be found: here
CBDCs are not slower than expected
My article was slightly problematic for me as I disagree with the basic premise that CBDCs are talked about more than actually built. This wasn’t really something I discussed with the author, so I confess that the title surprised me when I read it on the website.
The reality is that CBDCs are complex and can’t be built overnight as cryptocurrency can. That central banks are taking their time to examine all the possibilities and complexities in their design and use is good.
Roll-out isn’t slower than expectations, so much as the expectation that major economies can throw them out and build them in weeks or months is unrealistic. That 113 nations are examining how best to build and use them shows their importance and how regardless of one’s perception of timing, they’re coming!
Full article: here
My quotes below
Others focus on what might make cbdcs special. Lewis Sun, who heads emerging payments for hsbc, a bank, thinks that although using cbdcs for payments alone may not be that different from existing wholesale payment systems, “Programmable money is unique.” Rich Turrin, a Shanghai-based author of the book “Cashless” about China’s cbdc, describes an experiment in the province of Chengdu, where reports suggest six farmers were given e-cny with smart contracts stipulating that it could be used only for farming purposes. Some think this could be a step towards a dream of fine-grained more efficient control over the entire economy. cbdcs could also help countries perform the messaging and movement of funds required for cross-border transactions, possibly bypassing the dollar system, suggests Mr Turrin.
Yet these possible futures all remain experiments for now. “It is still early days,” admits Mr Turrin. In that, at least, it is not unlike the crypto industry.
