Private and Public Digital Money

fintech

10 Mar

This paper will critically discuss the peaceful co-existence of private and public digital money which seems to be a fantasy, because central banks and financial regulators are likely to use their centralised regulatory power to promote sovereign digital currencies. It will discuss this by referring to laws, regulations, and policies in jurisdictions such as UK, EU, US and/or China.

Introduction

This essay will evaluate whether the future of currency will involve cryptocurrencies and the coexistence of novel private forms of currency and traditional currency, or whether it is inevitable for central banks and state financial regulators to promote central currencies while pushing privatised currencies out of sight.

This essay will begin by explaining how Central Banks and their currencies came about, how they traditionally operate, and how modern digitization has affected this operation. After this, a brief explanation of digital currencies and cryptocurrencies will be provided. Then the analysis begins. Starting with exploring what theoretically and practically makes a currency, cryptocurrency will be heavily examined on its merits to determine whether; it could be considered a currency presently, and if not, whether it could in future behave and be used as one. Following from that the downsides of cryptocurrencies will be assessed against the central bank currencies. This will lay the ground work for a discussion on why central banks may feel threatened by cryptocurrencies.

With this analysis, a critical evaluation of the US and China’s regulatory outlook, record, and purpose in regulating cryptocurrencies will help tie together the reality of how states are responding to the crypto landscape. The final part of this paper will consider possible solutions for the coexistence of private and public currencies, and ideas concerning joint partnerships. Finally a conclusion will summarise the findings and state its outlook on future coexistence between central and private currencies.

Central banks and digital currencies

All non-private or state issued currency is issued through that states central bank[1]. With the United States, this is the Federal Reserve that issues the Dollar, with the United Kingdom it is the Bank of England that issues Pound Sterling, and with the EU, it is the European Central Bank (ECB) that issues the Euro. Unlike commodity money, which bases the value of a unit of money (such as one Dollar or one Euro) on the price of an existing valuable commodity such as gold or silver, central banks issue fiat currency, this is currency that gets its value from law, regulation, and the collective trust and value market participants put in it and the institutions that validate it.

In recent years, consumer methods of payment, like larger scale transactions have moved away from payment in physical forms of money. Sweden is predicted to become a fully digital cashless society by March 2023, which could make it the first country in the world to officially end the issuing, handling, and processing of cash in every aspect of its economy[2]. The Economist reports that China has emerged as the global leader of fintech innovation, now accounting for over half of all digital payments as well as three quarters of global online lending transactions[3]. This can be done more efficiently by a state’s central banks issuing digital currencies (CBDC). These would likely not need any distributed ledger[4]. While they do not yet exist, the calls for them have been growing, and with the rise of cryptocurrencies, as well as the rise of digital payments and transactions as stated, the need and inevitability is increasing.

In June 2021, The Bank of France and The Swiss National Bank launched a beta CBDC trial for cross border wholesale transactions (bank-to-bank, not consumer). Switzerland also previously tested a digital Swiss franc for instant transactions on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX)[5].

Additionally in the EU, Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordoñez, former governor of the Bank of Spain, officially called for the introduction of a digital euro, although the ECB as of now declined to do so[6]. The ECB made a statement in December 2019 saying they "will also continue to assess the costs and benefits of issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) that could ensure that the general public will remain able to use central bank money even if the use of physical cash eventually declines"[7].

What are private/decentralized currencies and their current purpose

In 2007, Satoshi Nakamoto (a pseudonym for an individual or group of programmers) created bitcoin, considered to be the first cryptocurrency, and launched it in 2009[8]. Bitcoin, like other cryptocurrencies, is a privatised form of digital currency, created with a finite amount of coins available. It (and other cryptocurrencies) works by using “distributed ledger technology”, whereby ownership of each individual coin is recorded and stored on a digital public ledger, called a blockchain, that is distributed and duplicated across all the computer systems connecting said blockchain (via the internet). The blockchain is therefore a massive chain of transactions called blocks.

New coins are created through the process of mining, where miners use software to solve mathematical problems and verify transactions in exchange for coins. This works as the incentive for individuals to upkeep the blockchain, which in recording and duplicating, also securely encrypts and timestamps all the transactions it is made up off, while keeping the identity of the contractual participants anonymous (or pseudonymous)[9]. Once a transaction block is validated, it cannot be changed.

Can private currencies be used for the purposes of money, as opposed to CBDC, and could they be legal tender

Cryptocurrencies as viable currencies

In order for a currency to be legal tender it must be recognised by the state as a form of currency legally acceptable in the payment of a debt[10]. For example, if bitcoin were legal tender, and individual owed money to a local bank, he would be permitted to pay, and the bank obligated to accept, payment of said debt in bitcoin. However, people may of course choose to pay for things, and sell things using other forms of non-legal tender money or commodity if both parties to the given transaction agree to that medium of exchange. If a form of money was to be accepted by the vast majority of the population of a state, and dealings in it were common, provided it met economic and academic legal definitions of what money is, even a privatised currency could potentially be made legal tender. This precedence has now been set, even for decentralised cryptocurrencies, as bitcoin has been made legal tender in El Salvador[11].

In ancient Rome, the emperor’s chief legal advisor described the three fundamental characteristics for government-issued currency[12], using terms still accepted in modern economics. Firstly, currency is a “unit of account” for the pricing of goods and services, secondly it is a “method of storing value”, and thirdly a “medium of exchange” that facilitates trade and all manner of economic transactions. Furthermore he also understood that the functioning of money depended not on its physical intrinsic value of the substance but rather on its nominal quantity. In other terms, a currency’s efficiency is based on the public’s confidence in the states management of the monetary system. One may use this base definition as a starting point to assess whether cryptocurrency can be used as a viable currency similar to central bank issued currencies, and therefore whether they can be utilised and/or even created by central banks in tandem with or as replacement for existing fiat currencies.

A method of storing of value is when a commodity or asset steadily holds value as compared to other forms of movable investment vehicle asset, so as to be able to be saved, retrieved and exchanged at a later time for a predictably similar and stable value. Bitcoin’s value in October 2020 was over $10,000 per coin, six month later it was just over $62,006, and a month after that $35,000. Ethereum, the second most popular crypto vehicle similarly lost 33.39% in two weeks from May 12 to 26. This indeed demonstrates the furthest thing from a good store of value. This is also why cryptocurrencies cannot work as reliable units of account. Pricing goods, services and anything else of value against cryptocurrencies would be futile as the massive price fluctuation simply fluctuates the value of said goods makes pricing completely arbitrary. Due to this, most economic actors will not accept these currencies as mediums for exchange.

In a September 2018 Report, The House of Commons Treasury Committee acknowledged that notwithstanding the overwhelmingly popular use of the term “crypto-currency”, the Committee found there to be no cryptocurrencies that met the aforementioned economic criteria for currency[13]. The Head of Note Operations at the Bank of England, Martin Etheridge, told the Committee that: “The [so-called cryptocurrencies] are not acting as a medium of exchange; they are not particularly good as a store of value, given the volatility; and they are certainly not being used as a unit of account”. Mr Etheridge further stated that the term ”cryptoassets” would be more accurate. Izabella Kaminska, Editor at The Financial Times Alphaville, concurred with this definition, further stating that: “In the current environment, it looks like [cryptocurrencies] are mostly being used for speculation and as vehicles for potentially relatively quick gains or losses. They are definitely [on] the asset side”[14].

How do private decentralized digital currencies threaten central banks

As evaluated, there are multiple reasons why CBs and regulators would want to reject cryptocurrencies. Their interest is to safeguard the economy by ensuring people’s finances are safe and secure, regulating harmful fluctuations and inflation, protecting against crime and fraud and maintaining a healthy consistency in the flow of money. Cryptocurrencies not only fly in the face of these aims, but they also disempower CB’s from the control they have over currency. What would be the implications of the public on its own accord switching to use of cryptocurrencies.

Right now, as cryptocurrencies are used almost exclusively as investment vehicles, their price is always represented in reference to dollars. Practically speaking, the effectiveness of monetary policy going forward will be decided by the extent to which cryptocurrencies substitute CBC. Widespread substitution would reduce CBs and regulators control over money in general, and in the most drastic case, their control over interest rates would become redundant[23].

As a counterargument, Stevens points out that provided CB money remains the unit of account – the stable currency people measure crypto prices against – the societal switch to cryptocurrencies as the medium of exchange “would be limited”, resulting in the loss of monetary control being limited as well[24]. People would buy and sell using crypto currencies, CB currency would still be used to set prices and act as the reference point giving CBs control over the monetary system.

Another crypto threat, is that a public substitution could create fiscal risks in the form of reduced seigniorage revenue[25], which may have to be made up in further taxes, thereby harm economic growth. Although this fear would seem dramatic on the basis that seigniorage revenues only comprise a small fraction of government revenue for the UK and US.

A final and probably most important concern of CBs, since there is a limited amount of any currency, cryptocurrencies even if stabilized will be prone to bubbles. If individuals, households, companies and corporations and financial institutions hold a significant portion of their liquid value in a cryptocurrency, a bubble will result in catastrophic economic loss and failure, potentially causing a recession.

It is clear then, from the above analysis that crypto currencies pose a considerable potential threat to central banks and regulators if widespread use grows, and are currently and perhaps theoretically unable to safely act as currencies in a way which would be accepted by monetary bodies.

What are the current laws and regulations on private currencies in leading jurisdictions

As stated at length before, due to the decentralised, anonymous and digital nature, regulating crypto currencies is a difficult game, and monitoring the goings on of transactions within the blockchain is neigh impossible. This obviously multiplies the fears of CBs and states. Furthermore, their international and cross boarder operation are novel for currency which is for the most part country specific. This means that states and international bodies must take a unified approach toward agreeing upon and implementing a consistent international regulatory crypto framework[26].

Cryptocurrency regulation is also difficult as cryptocurrencies in blockchain transactions cut out the necessity of a central intermediary (the issuer or payment processor of a transaction), the point where regulation is traditionally directed. This also poses the conundrum of where regulation can be focused.

US

In the US federally speaking, there has not been any law making on cryptocurrency regulation of note, despite many administrative agencies like the SEC, CFTC, IRS, OCC, and FinCEN have demonstrated interest on the area and acknowledging its part in the new digital American economy[27].

However at the state level there have been many developments, and two divergent approaches. States such as Wyoming, Ohio, Colorado, and Oklahoma have taken very libertarian responses, exempting cryptocurrencies from state securities and money transmission laws[28] and regulations. This has been done to promote the growth of and investment in emergent financial technology in hopes of stimulating the local economies and developing public infrastructure. The State of Wyoming for example has been praised by legal commentators for being the most crypto friendly and fintech savvy state in the US. It has passed legislation allowing the creation of a novel type of bank specifically for cryptocurrency. The purpose of these special banks is to hold businesses digital based assets, specifically crypto holdings, securely and may perform custodial and fiduciary capacities. Colorado, also passed a bipartisan bill that exempts cryptocurrencies from its state securities regulations, in order to accelerate its economic growth. Oklahoma and Ohio have taken noticeable steps in legal recognition, with the former introducing a bill authorizing cryptocurrency to be “used, offered, sold, exchanged and accepted” as an instrument of monetary value within governmental agencies, and the latter officially accepting it for payments in tax.

This would seem to suggest and evidence that, despite the discussion above, financial regulatory bodies and state/governmental bodies are not automatically predisposed to the shutting down of all development of private decentralized money, and in fact can encourage it to the point of lifting restriction other asset classes are subject to.

In the reverse however, the State of lowa introduced a bill that would prohibit it from accepting any payment in cryptocurrencies, and state authorities in over 10 states including Maryland and Hawaii have issued formal warnings to the public about cryptocurrencies, and its potential dangers, advising against investment.

China

China has had the most hard-line response of all jurisdictions regarding cryptocurrency. China originally was a world leader in cryptocurrency’s development and bitcoin activity. In 2017, China officially made all cryptocurrency activity illegal, banning Bitcoin across the board in Chinese jurisdiction[29]. The reason given for this being its harmful environmental impacts, jeopardizing efforts to reduce carbon emissions[30]. In September 2019, China accounted for over 75% of global Bitcoin energy use. After various government crackdowns based primarily on concerns over the facilitation of crime cryptocurrencies, specifically bitcoin, were involved in, as well as Fears it would damage the Yen causing the state to have less control over the economy and currency, in April 2021 that figure fell to 46% of bitcoin energy use.

Alternative methods (stablecoins)

When looking at the future of currency and solutions to the divide between CBCs and cryptocurrencies, other already existing alternatives should also be explored. Stablecoins operate similarly to how commodity currency does, in that it is backed by the value of something else with value[31]. Although for stablecoins this does not have to be a commodity like gold. Stablecoins can be based on anything, including a central bank currency like the USD.

Stablecoins are intriguing as they enjoy most of the decentralized benefits of cryptocurrency, namely transparency, security, anonymity etc. without the price volatility drawback when used as actual currency. In 2020, the value of all stablecoin assets in total was over $20 billion. This would seem like the Perfect marriage with the above argument by Steven, whereby a cryptocurrency can be backed by the Dollar or Pound (or any other central currency), to ensure that the pros of a centrally regulated currency relating to regulating the economy through interest rate adjustments to control inflation, quantative easing, and the ability to control the price to implement policies during crisis are kept, but the currency stays secure and private.

Diem

Diem is a stablecoin that evolved from Libra, a currency created by Facebook in 2017, and managed by Libra Association. In October 2019, several companies left Libra Association, including PayPal, Mastercard, Visa, eBay, and Stripe. In December 2020, Libra was renamed to Diem, and Libra Association was renamed Diem Association[32].

JPM

J.P. Morgan is the first global bank to design a network using blockchain technology to process instant payments, allowing for 24/7 money movement. They developed JPM coin for this in 2019. The idea here is a shared ledger system that serves as a deposit account for clients of the bank to transfer USD from their funds deposited in the bank.

Is it possible for central banks to create partnerships with private digital currencies

From the above analysis, looking at some of the regulatory responses as well as the functionings of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, the coexistence of both central bank currency and privatised decentralised currency does not seem impossible. The relationship between cryptocurrencies and central bank monetary policy is explored in depth by Fernandes-Villaverde and Sanches, whose theoretical model is similar to the one discussed above twice (regarding a fiat currency backed cryptocurrency), predicts the coexistence of the two depends on the central banks type of monetary policy[33]. That is to say that private currencies would be used if the central currencies did not provide price stability, but “would lose their value as a medium of exchange when the central bank credibly guarantees the real value of money balances”. Two results would come of this.

Firstly, coexistence between cryptocurrency and central currency that are valued as mediums of exchange would not be a impossible theoretically. Secondly, the central banks still possess the advantage, as in picking a specific type of policy they can prevent cryptocurrencies being valued as a medium of exchange while still be valued as other things, such as a speculative financial asset. With this model, cryptocurrencies have the effect of a checker, disciplining central banks, making the coexistence a positive relationship as opposed to a threat to central banks sovereignty. As pointed out, this is also a victory for the economist Hayek, who argued that in order to ensure the official state currency’s stability, the state’s monopoly on money must and should be broken and challenged.

Within the context of coexistence, partnership between the public and private sectors, through use of modern technologies like CBDCs, can be acheived[34]. One way this could be done is through CBDC being designed to encourage private non-state actors build upon it through their own innovation, in the same way as smart phones and their operating systems provide mediums for app designers and developers to create new technologically innovative features. “By accessing an open set of commands (“application programming interfaces”), a thriving developer community could expand the usability of central bank digital currencies beyond offering plain e-wallet services”[35]. The key to success will be in assessing these developed services for user safety.

A second possibility for partnership could be central banks allowing other forms of digital currency to be in operation like alternative parallel operating systems, whilst utilizing the stability and function capabilities of CBDCs. “This would open the door to faster innovation and product choice”. For example, one digital currency sacrifice in one area of function, like its settlement speed, in order to give users benefits elsewhere, like increased control over automated payments. This new currency would be usable as a store of value provided it were redeemable in a central currency, by being backed by one. It would also work as an efficient medium of exchange as redeeming settlement would be instant on any digital money network, exactly like transferring money between ones accounts within the same bank on a bank app.

Conclusion

It is clear that cryptocurrencies are shaking the world of finance up like never before. The differences between it and central currencies are evident, as are the glaring problems with its implementation as serious legal tender. The issues it would cause, even with a stable price are many and complex as discussed, but (and perhaps because of this) the threats to central bank currencies are real. However in its present form, it is no viable alternative yet. As well as its drawbacks, the benefits of this technology are unignorable. But nonetheless, it can be seen that not all governments and public bodies, even financial regulators (in developed countries) are too heavy handed so as to quickly ban cryptocurrency due to its threats to the status quo. Many lawmakers also see the immense value, and therefore crave a way to harness and/or work with this new technology. Of course, there are instances such as in the case of China, where the threats and uncertain nature of cryptocurrency will cause CBs and regulators to use their power to pull the plug, but there are many more like El Salvador who sees it as a better alternative to a poor local currency, and giants like the US who use it to build up new facets of it economic system. There are so many possibilities when it comes to coexistence and integration, the next step in finance awaits. In conclusion, no. Coexistence is not a fantasy, and technologically adaptive and innovative states will not use their power to solely promote their CBC, but instead to work towards that coexistence.

Bibliography

Articles

Adrian, Tobias, and Tommaso Mancini-Griffoli. "Public and Private Money Can Coexist in the Digital Age" (2021) CJ 41-225

Andrea O’Sullivan, "Ungoverned or anti-governance? How bitcoin threatens the future of western institutions” (2018) 71 JIA 90-102

Andrés, "The International Hierarchy of Money in Cross-Border Payment Systems: Developing Countries’ Regulation for Central Bank Digital Currencies and Facebook’s Stablecoin" (2021) 50 IJPE 226-24.

Asheer Jaywant. "Bitcoin as a new asset class." (2018) MAR

Barry Eichengreen, and Peter Temin, “The gold standard and the great depression” (2000) 9 CEH 183-207

Belke, Ansgar, and Edoardo Beretta. "From cash to central bank digital currencies and cryptocurrencies: a balancing act between modernity and monetary stability” (2020) JES

Benjamin A. Jones and Robert P. Berrens, "Cryptodamages: Monetary value estimates of the air pollution and human health impacts of cryptocurrency mining" (2020) ERSS 59

Charles Goodhart, The central bank and the financial system” (1995) S

Chohan and Usman W, "Assessing the differences in bitcoin & other cryptocurrency legality across national jurisdictions” (2017) SSRN

Claeys, Grégory, Maria Demertzis, and Konstantinos Efstathiou, “Cryptocurrencies and monetary policy” (2018) BPC

Congleton, Roger D. "On the political economy of the financial crisis and bailout of 2008–2009" (2009) 140 PC 287-317

David Andolfatto, "Assessing the impact of central bank digital currency on private banks." (2021) 131 TEJ 525-540

David Yermack, "Is Bitcoin a real currency? An economic appraisal” (2015) HDC 31-43

Dube, Kaitano, Nhamo Godwell, and David Chikodzi. "COVID-19 cripples global restaurant and hospitality industry" (2021) 24 CIT 1487-1490

Dylan Yaga, Peter Mell, Nik Roby, and Karen Scarfone, "Blockchain technology overview." (2019) 1906 AXPP

Huang and Sherena Sheng. "Crypto assets regulation in the UK: an assessment of the regulatory effectiveness and consistency" (2021) JFRC

Iris Barsan, "Legal challenges of initial coin offerings (ICO)" (2017) 3 RTDF (2017) 54-65

Iwamura, Mitsuru, Yukinobu Kitamura, Tsutomu Matsumoto, and Kenji Saito. "Can we stabilize the price of a cryptocurrency?: Understanding the design of Bitcoin and its potential to compete with Central Bank money" (2019) HJE 41-60.

James Benford, Stuart Berry, Kalin Nikolov, Chris Young, and Mark Robson. "Quantitative easing." (2009) 49 BEQB 90

James Thayer, "Legal Tender." (1887) 1 HLR 73

Klein, Manuel, Jonas Gross, and Philipp Sandner, “The Digital Euro and the Role of DLT for Central Bank Digital Currencies” (2020) FSBC WP

Lawrence White, "Federal reserve policy and the housing bubble" (2009) 29 CJ 115.

Michael Bordo and Andrew Levin, “Central bank digital currency and the future of monetary policy” (2017) w23711 NBER

Mita, Makiko, Kensuke Ito, Shohei Ohsawa, and Hideyuki Tanaka. "What is stablecoin?: A survey on price stabilization mechanisms for decentralized payment systems." (2019) IIAI-AAI 60-66

Nicholas Hanlon and Mihir Chakravarthi, “Bukele's Bitcoin Blunder” (2021) 185 JHIAE GHSBE

Niklas Arvidson, “The future of cash in Sweden." In Building a Cashless Society” (2019) S 75-84

Peter Seele, "Let us not forget: Crypto means secret. Cryptocurrencies as enabler of unethical and illegal business and the question of regulation" (2018) 3 HMJ 133-139

Robert Sams, "A note on cryptocurrency stabilisation: Seigniorage shares” (2015) BNC 1-8

Satoshi Nakamoto, "Bitcoin." A peer-to-peer electronic cash system” (2008)

Scott Hughes, "Cryptocurrency Regulations and Enforcement in the US" (2017) 45 WStULR

Sedlmeir, Johannes, Hans Ulrich Buhl, Gilbert Fridgen, and Robert Keller. "The energy consumption of blockchain technology: beyond myth" (2020) 62 BISE 599-608.

The Economist, “China’s government is cracking down on fintech. What does it want?” 2021 TE <China’s government is cracking down on fintech. What does it want? | The Economist> Accessed 5th January 2022

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Xie and Rain, "Why China had to ban cryptocurrency but the US did not: A comparative analysis of regulations on crypto-markets between the US and China." (2019) 18 WUGSLR 457

Zelic, Dragan, and Nenad Baros, "Cryptocurrency: general challenges of legal regulation and the Swiss model of regulation” (2018) ESD 168-176

Footnotes

[1] Charles Goodhart, The central bank and the financial system” (1995) S

[2] Niklas Arvidson, “The future of cash in Sweden." In Building a Cashless Society” (2019) S 75-84

[3] The Economist, “China’s government is cracking down on fintech. What does it want?” 2021 TE <China’s government is cracking down on fintech. What does it want? | The Economist> Accessed 5th January 2022

[4] Ulrich Bindseil, “Central bank digital currency: Financial system implications and control” (2019) 48 IJPE 303-335.

[5] Michael Bordo and Andrew Levin, “Central bank digital currency and the future of monetary policy” (2017) w23711 NBER

[6] Klein, Manuel, Jonas Gross, and Philipp Sandner, “The Digital Euro and the Role of DLT for Central Bank Digital Currencies” (2020) FSBC WP

[7] David Andolfatto, "Assessing the impact of central bank digital currency on private banks." (2021) 131 TEJ 525-540

[8] Satoshi Nakamoto, "Bitcoin." A peer-to-peer electronic cash system” (2008)

[9] Dylan Yaga, Peter Mell, Nik Roby, and Karen Scarfone, "Blockchain technology overview." (2019) 1906 AXPP

[10] James Thayer, "Legal Tender." (1887) 1 HLR 73

[11] Nicholas Hanlon and Mihir Chakravarthi, “Bukele's Bitcoin Blunder” (2021) 185 JHIAE GHSBE

[12] David Yermack, "Is Bitcoin a real currency? An economic appraisal” (2015) HDC 31-43

[13] Huang and Sherena Sheng. "Crypto assets regulation in the UK: an assessment of the regulatory effectiveness and consistency" (2021) JFRC

[14] Asheer Jaywant. "Bitcoin as a new asset class." (2018) MAR

[15] Sedlmeir, Johannes, Hans Ulrich Buhl, Gilbert Fridgen, and Robert Keller. "The energy consumption of blockchain technology: beyond myth" (2020) 62 BISE 599-608.

[16] Lawrence White, "Federal reserve policy and the housing bubble" (2009) 29 CJ 115.

[17] Barry Eichengreen, and Peter Temin, “The gold standard and the great depression” (2000) 9 CEH 183-207

[18] James Benford, Stuart Berry, Kalin Nikolov, Chris Young, and Mark Robson. "Quantitative easing." (2009) 49 BEQB 90

[19] Congleton, Roger D. "On the political economy of the financial crisis and bailout of 2008–2009" (2009) 140 PC 287-317

[20] Dube, Kaitano, Nhamo Godwell, and David Chikodzi. "COVID-19 cripples global restaurant and hospitality industry" (2021) 24 CIT 1487-1490

[21] Peter Seele, "Let us not forget: Crypto means secret. Cryptocurrencies as enabler of unethical and illegal business and the question of regulation" (2018) 3 HMJ 133-139

[22] Iris Barsan, "Legal challenges of initial coin offerings (ICO)" (2017) 3 RTDF (2017) 54-65

[23] Andrea O’Sullivan, "Ungoverned or anti-governance? How bitcoin threatens the future of western institutions” (2018) 71 JIA 90-102

[24] Iwamura, Mitsuru, Yukinobu Kitamura, Tsutomu Matsumoto, and Kenji Saito. "Can we stabilize the price of a cryptocurrency?: Understanding the design of Bitcoin and its potential to compete with Central Bank money" (2019) HJE 41-60.

[25] Robert Sams, "A note on cryptocurrency stabilisation: Seigniorage shares” (2015) BNC 1-8

[26] Chohan and Usman W, "Assessing the differences in bitcoin & other cryptocurrency legality across national jurisdictions” (2017) SSRN

[27] Scott Hughes, "Cryptocurrency Regulations and Enforcement in the US" (2017) 45 WStULR

[28] Zelic, Dragan, and Nenad Baros, "Cryptocurrency: general challenges of legal regulation and the Swiss model of regulation” (2018) ESD 168-176

[29] Xie and Rain, "Why China had to ban cryptocurrency but the US did not: A comparative analysis of regulations on crypto-markets between the US and China." (2019) 18 WUGSLR 457

[30] Benjamin A. Jones and Robert P. Berrens, "Cryptodamages: Monetary value estimates of the air pollution and human health impacts of cryptocurrency mining" (2020) ERSS 59

[31] Mita, Makiko, Kensuke Ito, Shohei Ohsawa, and Hideyuki Tanaka. "What is stablecoin?: A survey on price stabilization mechanisms for decentralized payment systems." (2019) IIAI-AAI 60-66

[32] Andrés, "The International Hierarchy of Money in Cross-Border Payment Systems: Developing Countries’ Regulation for Central Bank Digital Currencies and Facebook’s Stablecoin" (2021) 50 IJPE 226-24.

[33] Claeys, Grégory, Maria Demertzis, and Konstantinos Efstathiou, “Cryptocurrencies and monetary policy” (2018) BPC

[34] Belke, Ansgar, and Edoardo Beretta. "From cash to central bank digital currencies and cryptocurrencies: a balancing act between modernity and monetary stability” (2020) JES

[35] Adrian, Tobias, and Tommaso Mancini-Griffoli. "Public and Private Money Can Coexist in the Digital Age" (2021) CJ 41-225

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