BoE & FCA Launch Digital Sandbox for Financial Innovation
The BoE and the FCA have formed a regulatory sandbox which seeks to enhance the United Kingdom's status as a leading global financial...
The former Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper thinks that Bitcoin and central bank digital currencies (CBDC) stands as possible options to replace fiat currencies in the future.
Bitcoin and other assets could work as options. As he said:
“It’s hard to see what the alternative is to the U.S. dollar as the world’s major reserve currency. Other than gold, Bitcoin, a whole basket of things. I think you’ll see the number of things that people use as reserves will expand, but the U.S. dollar will still be the bulk of it.”
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) “inevitable”
According to Harper, the concept of a central bank currency issued on the blockchain or based on similar technology behind cryptocurrencies is inevitably going to see widespread adoption across the world. One key concern the former Prime Minister has towards a Bitcoin-esque monetary system, however, ist that central banks might become more of a general banker rather than an institution to monitor and regulate economies. As he noted:
“Ultimately, if you have a digital currency and the purpose of the central bank is to control inflation and create a stable currency and priceability, then digital currency is just kind of an evolution of the marketplace. But if it’s part of a series of what I think are wild experiments as to the role of central banking, then it worries me a lot.”