In one sense, there is nothing new about digital, state-issued money. Bank deposits at the central bank are precisely that.
“One interesting solution, then, would be to maintain the principle of a government-backed currency, but have it issued in an electronic rather than paper form. This would preserve the social convention of a state-issued unit of account and medium of exchange, albeit with currency now held in digital rather than physical wallets.”
– Andrew Haldane, the Bank of England’s chief economist
What is exciting about this is that the Bank of England now appears to be waking up (slowly) to the potential for issuing a digital form of cash. But Haldane’s fixation on the use of interest rates is short-sighted. There are far more interesting uses for digital central bank money – breaking the monopoly of commercial banks over electronic money for a start.
– Full Article at Positive Money »
I cannot help but wonder how far Riksbanken in Sweden has come to realize the true macroeconomic benefits of this to our monetary system, and how much our gouvernment really know about the true importance of this regarding fiscal policy?