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AndrzejSławiński
efficientmonetarysystem.Trustinpublicinstitutions
cannotbesubstitutedfortrustinaspecifictechnology
(Dodd,2017).Additionally,hadthefiatmoney
beenreplacedbycryptocurrencies,itwouldhave
constitutedanunfairmisappropriationofseigniorage
byprivatemoneyissuers.
Theweaknessoftheclaimsthatcryptocurrencies
constituteanalternativemonetarysystemis
illustratedbythefactthattheycouldmakean
efficientmonetarysystemonlyiftheyplayed
aroleofliquidreservesinasystemcontaining
commercialbanksextendingloansdenominated
incryptocurrenciesandacentralbankconducting
monetarypolicyandplayingtheroleofthelender
oflastresort(Danielsson,2018)
Willitbeeasyforcentralbanks
toissueelectroniccash?
Insomecountries,especiallyinScandinavian
ones,cashhasbeenonasteadyretreat.Onthis
waveofpopularsentiment,in2017theBank
ofSwedenannounceditspreparationsforissuing
aCBDC-centralbankdigitalcurrency(Sveriges
Riksbank,2017).Yet,atthesametime,thecentral
banksofDenmarkandFinlanddecidednotto
undertakesuchpreparations(Grymetal.,2017;
Gurtleretal.,2017),whichsuggeststhatissuing
CBDCisamoredifficultchallengethanitmight
appearatfirst.
Centralbanksshouldnotcreatedepositmoney.
Itshouldbecreatedbycommercialbanks,since
thisguaranteesitsrationalallocationtothosewho
areefficientenoughtorepaytheloans.Inthepast,
centralbanksusuallyevolvedfromlargecom-
mercialbanks,buttheygaveuptheircommercial
activitiesinordertoproperlyfulfilltheirrole
oflendersoflastresort(Bordo,2014,2017).
Nowadays,centralbanksdonotextendcommercial
loans.Hence,theydonothavecapabilitiesto
allocatethenewlycreateddepositmoney.
Onemightconsideritrationalforcentral
bankstoholdhouseholds’andfirms’deposits,
i.e.themoneyoriginallycreatedbycommercial
banks.Suchachangewouldgivehouseholdsand
smallfirmsdirectaccesstothecentralbank’s
real-timepaymentsystem.
Still,thiswouldnotbeagoodidea.Opening
upsuchapossibilityforhouseholdswouldpose
achallengesimilarinnaturetothatfacedby
narrowbanking(Goodhart,2009).Inpeaceful
times,householdswouldkeeptheirdepositswith
commercialbanksasthelatteroneswouldoffer
ahigherinterestandawiderrangeofservices
thanthoseavailableatacentralbank.However,
duringarecession,anincreasinguncertaintywould
triggeramassivedepositflightfromcommercial
bankstothecentralbank(Callesen,2017).This
wouldforcecentralbankstosupplycommercial
bankswithampleliquidityinordertosavethem
fromliquidatingalargeportionoftheirassets,
whichmightcauseturmoilonfinancialmarkets.
Moreover,ifseveralcentralbanksdecidedtohold
householddeposits,theincreaseduncertainty
oninternationalfinancialmarketsmighttrigger
massivedepositflights,e.g.totheSwissNational
Bank(Gurtleretal.,2017).
Ifitisnotrationaltoallowthegeneralpublic
todepositmoneywithcentralbanks,itseems
obviousthatthelattershouldatleastbeable
toissueelectroniccash.Infact,eventhisis
notassimpleasitmightseem.Theproblemis
thatcashincirculationisnotrecordedinany
personalisedledgers-thecentralbankbalancesheet
showsonlytheitemtermed“cashincirculation.”
However,electroniccashcannotexistwithout
beingindividuallyrecordedinaledger(Grymet
al.,2017).ThatiswhytheRiksbankannounced
thatitwouldissuenotelectroniccash,butadigital
complementtocash(SverigesRiksbank,2017).It
willlikelybeacontactlesspaymentcardoffering
accesstoinstantsettlementswithintheRiksbank’s
paymentsystemwhileprotectingitsowners’
anonymityandprivacy.
Whoiscreatinginternationalcurrency–
commercialorcentralbanks?
Abankinanygivencountry,e.g.aUK-based
one,canextendloansandcreatedepositmoney
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ZarządzaniePubliczne/PublicGovernance4(50)/2019
