IMF:The Money Revolution

 

Crypto, CBDCs, and the future of finance.

F&D Sept 2022 Issue: The Money Revolution Dear maria, Rapid technological innovation is ushering in a new era of public and private digital money, with the potential to improve competition and efficiency and reduce costs. But some forms of digital money pose significant challenges, and not all of them will prove viable. In our September 2022 edition of F&D Magazine we focus on the ongoing money revolution and its implications for finance, monetary policy, international capital flows, and society at large. “The future of money is undoubtedly digital,” writes F&D editor-in-chief Gita Bhatt. “The question is: what is it going to look like?” In this edition, we attempt to answer that question, drawing on cutting-edge research and analysis from economists and other leading experts who range from digital money enthusiasts to crypto skeptics. The issue examines such topics as regulation, cybersecurity, and privacy, while at the same time exploring digital currency’s promise for cross-border payments, central banking, renewable energy, and more. To help further inform debate, this issue features complementary podcasts, videos, and other multimedia elements you can find here. We also provide a look at how this money transformation is playing out for ordinary people around the world, from Indonesia’s “Silicon Bali” entrepreneurs to India’s digitally savvy youth and Africa’s small business owners. We hope our readers learn a thing or two about the fast-changing financial landscape from this edition. We certainly did. FEATURED ARTICLES: A New Era for Money | Eswar Prasad A Foundation of Trust | Agustín Carstens, Jon Frost, and Hyun Song Shin Making Sense of Crypto | Ravi Menon Regulating Crypto | Aditya Narain and Marina Moretti Bullet Train | Tobias Adrian and Tommaso Mancini Griffoli ‘Defi’ and ‘TradFi’ Must Work Together | Michael Casey The Superficial Allure of Crypto | Hilary Allen Defi’s Promise and Pitfalls | Fabian Schär The Ascent of CBDCs | Andrew Stanley Digital Money 101 | F&D Staff Central Bankers’ New Cybersecurity Challenge | Giulia Fanti, Josh Lipsky, Ole Moehr Digital Journeys: Bali, India, and Africa | Harry Jacques, Jeff Kearns, Ashlin Mathew, and Chris Wellisz For our Back-to-Basics series, Parma Bains and Ranjit Singh explain stablecoins (watch our B2B video here). And for Currency Notes, former IMF staffer John Kiff examines the reasons behind the push to develop offline digital currencies. Also in this issue, the FAO’s Maximo Torero Cullen talks about the looming food crisis, Northwestern’s Matthias Doepke and others write on the new economics of fertility, and the IMF’s Carlo Pizzinelli explains how a better understanding of how consumers think about the economy would help policymakers control inflation. Jeff Kearns reviews Jamie Martin’s new book, The Meddlers: Sovereignty, Empire, and the Birth of Global Economic Governance; Era Dabla-Norris reviews Thomas Piketty’s A Brief History of Inequality; and Vivek Arora reviews C. Fred Bergsten’s The United States versus China: The Quest for Global Economic Leadership. Last but not least, Marjorie Henriquez profiles Harvard’s Stefanie Stantcheva for our People in Economics series. Sincerely, F&D Team   Stay Engaged Please don’t hesitate to contact me directly. I'd love to hear what you think of our content or what you would like to see more coverage of. Please do flag any interesting or significant research we should consider showcasing. We will be publishing more online articles in the coming weeks and months on a range of subjects. Nick Owen Senior Editor F&D Magazine nowen@IMF.org