Cryptocurrencies, Big Techs, central bank digital currencies and the changing role of banks in the payment industry: old wine in new bottles?

Léo Malherbe and Matthieu Montalban

Chapter 3 in Central Banking, Monetary Policy and the Future of Money, 2022, pp 76-93 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The central position of banks in the payment system in the current hierarchical monetary system has been challenged first by the emergence of a large crypto-ecosystem following the Bitcoin invention, second by the entry of Big Techs who, relying on their vast network of users, wish to offer their own payment services and third, with the possible introduction of Central Banks Digital Currencies (CBDC). This chapter aims to discuss the consequences of those digital innovations on the changing role of banks in the payment industry. As we will show, those technological innovations re-actualizes some typical tensions between centralization and fractionation of money, as well as historical debates on the efficient monetary reform. We show that, more than cryptocurrencies, Big Techs seem to be able to contest the structure of payment systems, even though they show willingness to comply with the regulatory framework instead of strongly disrupting the payment system. Cryptocurrencies are more likely to be adopted in countries with very weak or even failed state. CBDC can be analyzed as a way to counter the rise of BigTechs and cryptocurrencies and thus keep the hierarchical banking system alive but a the cost of changing the banks' business model, strengthening their control and changing the way monetary policy is implemented. Although cryptocurrencies increase monetary competition and fractionation of payment systems in the same spirit as Hayek's proposals of denationalization of money, in contrast, depending on the design of CBDC, it could be a resurgence of the 100% money scheme or the Tobin's (1985) deposited currency proposal.

Keywords: Economics and Finance; Politics and Public Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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