Gatekeepers of Order
Imagining The Role of Central Banks In A Decentralized, Blockchain Based World
The worst enemy of life, freedom and the common decencies is total anarchy; their second worst enemy is total efficiency. — Aldous Huxley
Over the ages, money has shifted forms but not it’s functions as a store of value and as a medium of exchange. The slowing global economy has accelerated the search for outsize returns resulting in speculative trading in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a speech on September 29, 2017 provided further legitimacy to digital currencies by imagining a future where Central Banks have to deal with regulating crypto currencies. In the short to medium term, at least, the possibility of digital currencies coexisting with cards, digital wallets, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and cash is easy to conceive of. How then will Central Banks change in the face of disruptive experiments such as Bitcoin that fall between complete anarchy and absolute efficiency. This article explores the evolving role of central banks and imagines what the central banks of the future would look like.
