Mich: Making sense of central bank digital currencies

CHAIRE HOOVER Louvain-La-Neuve

18 septembre 2018

12h45 - 13h55

Louvain-la-Neuve

salle Vivès (D-305), Place Montesquieu 3

Louis Larue (Chaire Hoover, UCL) - Clément Fontan (UCL, Saint-Louis)  - Joakim Sandberg (Göteborgs Universitet)

Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are attracting increasing media attention. They have also triggered reflection among central bankers about the role of money in a digital age. The greatest part of the literature is concerned with the technical possibility for central banks to create their own digital currency as well as with the policy implications of such schemes for the mandate of central bankers. Our focus is slightly different. We tackle these issues from a financial ethics perspective and study whether different proposals of central banks digital currencies would constitute a step towards a more just and efficient financial system. We do not limit our attention to central banks and financial institutions. Rather, we wish to study whether society as a whole would benefit from such schemes.