Banking Titan Agustín Carstens Urges Evolution of Global Monetary System and CBDCs in Response to Growing Demand for Digital Cash
Agustín Carstens, the head of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), emphasizes the ongoing evolution of the global monetary system and the imperative need to prepare central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for widespread adoption.
Carstens asserts that central banks must establish a robust legal framework for CBDCs, focusing on legitimacy, privacy, integrity, and user choice. While acknowledging that the current monetary system serves society well, he underscores the declining use of cash and the growing demand for digital forms of money that are programmable and facilitate fast, inexpensive, and secure cross-border transfers. Carstens advocates international collaboration to create an interconnected and interoperable digital system.
He stresses the preservation of CBDC user privacy, financial system integrity, and user choice. Carstens, a critic of cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins, contends that they lack the essential attributes of money and should not replace the centralized banking system. He highlights the importance of a centralized banking institution’s backing, regulatory framework, access to central banks, and payment finality, which cryptocurrencies and stablecoins do not provide.
Clever Robot News Desk 28th September 2023
