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The Future of Money
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Learn the key ideas of the book by Eswar S. Prasad

The Future of Money

How the digital revolution is changing money as we know it

What is money? What exactly do banks do? In The Future of Money, Eswar Prasad explains the key financial concepts surrounding the currencies that govern traditional markets, and analyses the possibilities the current digital revolution offers, from cryptocurrencies to Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).

The Future of Money
Read in 14 min.
Listen in 18 min.
IDEA CHIAVE 1/11

From coins to digital currencies: the end of money as we know it

We use money every single day, but most of us are unaware of its many different characteristics and of the consequences it has on our lives. Money is an abstract concept, which people often know very little about, and its impact on human history over the past millennia is widely underestimated.

The first banknotes appeared in China under the rule of Kublai Khan, replacing the coins that had been widely used up until then, and their introduction marked one of the most significant changes in the history of currencies. The banknotes held a purely symbolic value, which in contrast to the metal used for coins, was completely unrelated to the rarity of the material used to produce them. The introduction of banknotes gradually led to a more modern concept of the term ‘money’, which has once again been revolutionised in recent years, as we continue to move towards the digital world.

Digital banking transactions were first introduced decades ago, but the current trend to move away from traditional banknotes altogether, and towards the use of entirely digital currencies, has only arisen relatively recently. In 2018, for example, the Swedish Central Bank (the world’s oldest central bank, founded in 1668) and several nations, including China, clearly expressed their intention to switch to exclusively digital transactions.

  

The key ideas of "The Future of Money"

01.
From coins to digital currencies: the end of money as we know it
02.
Technological innovation and growing mistrust of traditional finance will lead to a revolution in the markets
03.
Money is a much broader concept than we might think
04.
Banks are the main players in the management of a financial system
05.
Kickstarter is an example of successful FinTech
06.
The advent of Bitcoin has ushered in a new era
07.
The future of crypto will be based on Ethereum and smart contracts
08.
CBDCs are official digital currencies that belong to central banks, and are still in the course of development
09.
What will become of the dollar? Will there be a new currency to replace it?
10.
Quotes
11.
Take-home message
 
 
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