Digital assets and fintech

• Non-competing Data Intermediaries

  Staff working paper 2020-28 Shota Ichihashi

  I study a model of competing data intermediaries (e.g., online platforms and data brokers) that collect personal data from consumers and sell it to downstream firms.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D4, D42, D43, D8, D80, L, L1, L12 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market structure, Models and tools, Economic models, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech

• Why Fixed Costs Matter for Proof-of-Work Based Cryptocurrencies

  Staff working paper 2020-27 Rodney J. Garratt, Maarten van Oordt

  Can Bitcoin survive? Some say it will become vulnerable to attacks as the rewards for processing Bitcoin transactions continue to decline. The economics of fixed costs suggest the specialized hardware used to mine Bitcoin may be key to its survival.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): G, G1, G10, L, L1, L11 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech

• The potential effect of a central bank digital currency on deposit funding in Canada

  Staff analytical note 2020-15 Alejandro García, Bena Lands, Xuezhi Liu, Joshua Slive

  A retail central bank digital currency denominated in Canadian dollars could, in theory, create competition for bank deposit funding.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E44, E5, G, G1, G10, G17, G2, G21, G3, G32, O Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Financial stability and systemic risk, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech

• CBDC adoption and usage: some insights from field and laboratory experiments

  Staff analytical note 2020-12 Janet Hua Jiang

  This note discusses insights from historical launches of new payment methods and related laboratory experiments on the potential adoption and use of a central bank digital currency in the Canadian context.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): C, C9, E, E4, E5, E58 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Retail payments

• Security of a CBDC

  Staff analytical note 2020-11 Cyrus Minwalla

  Security is an important element in ensuring public confidence in a central bank digital currency (CBDC). This note highlights the required security properties of a CBDC system and the challenges encountered with existing solutions, should the Bank of Canada choose to issue one.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E5, E51, O, O3, O31 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures

• Designing a CBDC for universal access

  Staff analytical note 2020-10 John Miedema, Cyrus Minwalla, Martine Warren, Dinesh Shah

  If the Bank of Canada issues a central bank digital currency, the technology should be designed for universal access.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, O, O3, O31 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures, Retail payments

• Privacy in CBDC technology

  Staff analytical note 2020-9 Sriram Darbha, Rakesh Arora

  Privacy is a key aspect of a potential central bank digital currency system. We outline different technical choices to enact various privacy models while complying with the appropriate regulations. We develop a framework to evaluate privacy models and list key risks and trade-offs in privacy design.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E5, E51, O, O3 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures

• Is Central Bank Currency Fundamental to the Monetary System?

  Staff discussion paper 2020-2 Hanna Armelius, Carl Andreas Claussen, Scott Hendry

  In this paper, we discuss whether the ability of individuals to convert commercial bank money (i.e., bank deposits) into central bank money is fundamentally important for the monetary system.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures

• Demand for Payment Services and Consumer Welfare: The Introduction of a Central Bank Digital Currency

  Staff working paper 2020-7 Kim Huynh, Jozsef Molnar, Oleksandr Shcherbakov, Qinghui Yu

  Using a two-stage model, we study the determinants of Canadian consumers’ choices of payment method at the point of sale. We estimate consumer preferences and adoption costs for various combinations of payment methods. We analyze how introducing a central bank digital currency would affect the market equilibrium.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): C, C5, C51, E, E4, E42, L, L1, L14, L5, L52 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Economic models, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Retail payments

• A Uniform Currency in a Cashless Economy

  Staff analytical note 2020-7 Walter Engert, Ben Fung

  A number of questions can arise when considering the implications of a cashless society. This note considers whether cash is necessary for a uniform currency.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures