Money is one of the greatest innovations in human history. Riksbank of Sweden was the first central bank to issue paper banknotes in 1661. Since then, central bank issued notes and coins have represented cash.

But the digital revolution is transforming this concept of cash in a radical way. It started with a whitepaper published by Satoshi Nakamoto on October 31, 2008 – less than two months after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. Nakamoto proposed Bitcoins - a new electronic cash system that was fully peer-to-peer with no central bank.

Digital currencies have caught the public’s imagination since then. And despite the recent meltdown in the value of crypto-currencies, they appear to be the future of money. Decentralized money – outside the purview of regulated financial institutions – will have implications for the financial system and macroeconomic stability. Central Banks have been trying to address this issue through central bank digital currencies (CBDC) – a digital form of central bank money.

In this webinar, we will look at the various aspects of digital currencies. Besides cryptocurrencies, we will discuss stablecoins – digital currencies whose value is pegged to a reference asset. These may be less volatile than crypto and therefore, more suitable for day-to-day transactions. Finally, we will discuss wholesale and retail central bank digital currencies.

Topics to be discussed:

• Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies
• Stablecoins
• Central Bank Digital Currencies