Ross Anderson (University of Cambridge und University of Edinburgh) – Central Bank Digital Currencies – A Sceptic's View

The bitcoin bubble made central bankers worry about their monopoly on seignorage and the potential loss of control of monetary policy. Their response has included proposals for central bank digital currencies which range from letting citizens open accounts at a government bank, through tamper-resistant devices for electronic bearer payments, through stablecoins and ecash, to the recognition of cryptocurrency as legal tender. As a security engineer with experience of conventional payment systems and some familiarity with cryptocurrencies, I will question what problems these proposals would really solve. We've had state-owned banks before 2008, and even more since then; the lessons are worth studying. The real design trade-offs entangle technical possibilities with regulatory burdens such as AML rules. I will illustrate the problems by discussing shortcomings in the proposals from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank.

Date:
Friday, July 2, 2021, 11:00 p.m.

Venue:
Online via Webex

Please contact the Event Management to receive a personal invitation.