With the #cryptocurrency market collapse, a #CBDC outage, and rumors of the largest #stablecoin project folding, January brought bad news for #digital currencies of all kinds. ⬇️ some takeaways. (1/n) 1. As #crypto prices collapsed, narratives of each coin need to be reevaluated. Fixed supply alone does not make for an inflation hedge. Claiming that a project is "Decentralised" does not make it so. Technological promises remain elusive: ideas.repec.org/p/bis/biswps/7… (2/n)

The fundamental design choice for a #CBDC is the architecture: what is the operational role of the central bank and the private sector?

ideas.repec.org/p/bis/biswps/9…

In the “Direct” model, the central bank takes a substantial operational role: the CBDC represents a… (1/6) direct claim on the central bank, which maintains retail accounts and executes all payments.

The “Hybrid” architecture we introduce is an intermediate solution. A CBDC represents a direct claim on the central bank. Private sector intermediaries handle payments, but…(2/6)

As much as they are technologies, #Bitcoin, #Ethereum, and other #cryptocurrencies are communities of users and developers. What is the profile and the motivation of cryptocurrency owners? Do they really #hodl? How does education etc. differ across cryptocurrencies? ⬇️[1/7] Answers based on work with @David_III_L:
bis.org/publ/work951.p…

#Cryptocurrency investors tend to be young, educated and high-income, are likely to have experience of using digital finance but do not seem motivated by distrust in fiat currencies or regulated finance. [2/7]

Brand new survey -and thread - on #CBDCs beyond borders:
bis.org/publ/bppdf/bis…

There is considerable interest in the potential of CBDCs to improve #crossborderpayments - this is also included in the #G20-endorsed roadmap to improve #crossborderpayments. [1/n] As part of the roadmap, a stocktake of provisional CBDC designs and experimentation was requested, lead by the CPMI and the @BIS_org Innovation Hub, in consultation with @IMFNews and @WorldBank. BIS Paper 116 contributes to this work...[2/n]

The idea to issue #cbdc dates back decades ago, but it is only since quite recently that some central banks are seriously considering this possibility. What are the reasons, what are the designs, and why now? Come with me...1/x

https://twitter.com/jerrybrito/status/1256605447919992838

First, note that the vast majority of central bank money is already digital - the sight deposits of commercial banks have at the central bank. But households and nonfinancial firms cannot access this money directly, only indirectly via the commercial banks. 2/x