Money or Crypto-Gold? Problematics and Possible Worlds for Cryptocurrencies

Eduardo Garzón Espinosa, Esteban Cruz Hidalgo, Bibiana Medialdea Garcia and Carlos Sanchez Mato
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Eduardo Garzón Espinosa: Department of Economy and Public Finance, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Bibiana Medialdea Garcia: Department of Applied Economics, Structure and History, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Carlos Sanchez Mato: Department of Applied Economics, Structure and History, Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Economia Internazionale / International Economics, 2023, vol. 76, issue 3, 429-452

Abstract: The International Financial Crisis that erupted in 2008 has since fueled much discussion around the architecture of the monetary system. The emergence of and growing interest in so-called cryptocurrencies, which must be framed in that historical moment, has led some to argue those instruments will soon be regarded as an alternative to traditional currencies in domestic and international monetary system. There is already considerable literature seeking to explain what these ‘currencies’ consist of and the advantages that their use can conceivably bring. Less emphasized are the downsides and risks of such use, research on which is significantly less common. This article proposes to investigate whether cryptocurrencies can indeed serve as an alternative or substitute for State currencies – that is, whether they can be considered money – as well as whether they might be established as a digital reserve asset. Our main conclusions are that cryptocurrencies cannot be regarded as money and that significant drawbacks prevent their use as a reserve asset by central banks. Contante o cripto-oro? Problematiche e mondi possibili per le criptovalute La crisi finanziaria internazionale scoppiata nel 2008 ha alimentato molto la discussione circa la struttura del sistema monetario. La nascita e il crescente interesse attorno alle ‘criptovalute’, che necessita di essere contestualizzato in questo momento storico, ha indotto alcuni a ritenere che tali strumenti sarebbero stati presto considerati una valida alternativa alle valute tradizionali nel sistema monetario domestico e internazionale. Esiste già una considerevole letteratura che cerca di spiegare in cosa consistono queste ‘valute’ e i vantaggi derivati dal loro utilizzo. Gli svantaggi e i rischi connessi all’uso di esse sono meno enfatizzati e la ricerca riguardo a questo aspetto non è stata ampia. Questo articolo si propone di investigare se realmente le criptovalute possono rappresentare un’alternativa o un sostituto delle valute nazionali – cioè, se possono essere usate come riserve ufficiali dalle banche centrali. Le nostre principali conclusioni evidenziano che le criptovalute non possono essere considerate come moneta e che diversi inconvenienti ostano al loro uso come riserve ufficiali da parte delle banche centrali.

Keywords: Money; Cryptocurrencies; Bitcoin; Blockchain; Monetary System (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E42 O33 P10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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