CBDC and Monetary Sovereignty Staff analytical note 2020-5 Antonio Diez de los Rios, Yu Zhu In an increasingly digitalized world, issuers of private digital currency can weaken central banks’ ability to stabilize the economy. By continuing to make central bank money attractive as a payment instrument in a digital world, a central bank digital currency (CDBC) could help to maintain a country’s monetary sovereignty. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, E58, F, F5, F55, G, G1, G15 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Monetary policy, Monetary policy tools and implementation, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures
CBDC and Monetary Policy Staff analytical note 2020-4 Mohammad Davoodalhosseini, Francisco Rivadeneyra, Yu Zhu Improving the conduct of monetary policy is unlikely to be the main motivation for central banks to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC). While some argue that a CBDC could allow more complex transfer schemes or the ability to break below the zero lower bound, we find these benefits might be small or difficult to realize in practice. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E5, E51, E52 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Monetary policy tools and implementation, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech
2018 Bitcoin Omnibus Survey: Awareness and Usage Staff discussion paper 2019-10 Christopher Henry, Kim Huynh, Gradon Nicholls, Mitchell Nicholson The Bank of Canada continues to use the Bitcoin Omnibus Survey (BTCOS) to monitor trends in Canadians’ awareness, ownership and use of Bitcoin. The most recent iteration was conducted in late 2018, following an 85 percent decline in the price of Bitcoin throughout the year. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): C, C1, C12, E, E4, O, O5, O51 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Digital assets and fintech
Cashless Bank Branches in Canada Staff analytical note 2019-29 Walter Engert, Ben Fung Cashless or tellerless bank branches have proliferated in several countries in recent years. In a cashless bank branch, teller or counter services such as cash withdrawals, deposits and cheque-cashing are not available. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5, E51 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Digital assets and fintech, Retail payments
The Economics of Cryptocurrencies—Bitcoin and Beyond Staff working paper 2019-40 Jonathan Chiu, Thorsten Koeppl Since the creation of Bitcoin in 2009, over 2,000 cryptocurrencies have been issued. We evaluate how well a cryptocurrency functions as a payment system. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E5, L, L5 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Monetary policy tools and implementation, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures
Privacy as a Public Good: A Case for Electronic Cash Staff working paper 2019-24 Rodney J. Garratt, Maarten van Oordt Cash gives users a high level of privacy when making payments, but the use of cash to make payments is declining. People increasingly use debit cards, credit cards or other methods to pay. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, G, G2, G28 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Digital assets and fintech, Retail payments
Bank Market Power and Central Bank Digital Currency: Theory and Quantitative Assessment Staff working paper 2019-20 Jonathan Chiu, Mohammad Davoodalhosseini, Janet Hua Jiang, Yu Zhu We show that issuing a deposit-like central bank digital currency (CBDC) with a proper interest rate would encourage banks to pay higher interest to keep their customers. Banks would then attract more deposits and offer more loans. Hence, a CBDC would not necessarily crowd out private banking. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E5, E50, E58 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market structure, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech
Entrepreneurial Incentives and the Role of Initial Coin Offerings Staff working paper 2019-18 Rodney J. Garratt, Maarten van Oordt Initial coin offerings (ICOs) are a new mode of financing start-ups that saw an explosion in popularity in 2017 but declined in popularity in the second half of 2018 as regulatory pressure, instances of fraud and reports of poor performance began to undermine their reputation. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): G, G3, G32 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech
Non-Bank Financial Intermediation in Canada: An Update Staff discussion paper 2019-2 Guillaume Bédard-Pagé Non-bank financing provides an important funding source for the economy and is a valuable alternative to traditional banking. It helps enhance the efficiency and resiliency of the financial system while giving customers more choices for their financial services. Unlike banking, it is not prudentially regulated. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): G, G0, G01, G2, G20, G23 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Financial stability and systemic risk, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech
Crypto ‘Money’: Perspective of a Couple of Canadian Central Bankers Staff discussion paper 2019-1 James Chapman, Carolyn A. Wilkins The market for cryptoassets has exploded in size in the 10 years since bitcoin was launched. The technology underlying cryptoassets, blockchain, has also been held up as a technology that promises to transform entire industries. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5, E51, E58, H, H4, P, P4, P43 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures