In October 2008 a mysterious article was published under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto: “Bitcoin: a peer-to-peer electronic cash system”. Bitcoin's entry into operation some months later in early 2009 barely caused a ripple. Since then, the scheme has accumulated more than half a million...

We model the introduction of a new payment method, e.g., e-money, that competes with an existing payment method, e.g., cash. The new payment method involves relatively lower per-transaction costs for both buyers and sellers, but sellers must pay a fixed fee to accept the new payment method. As a...

This paper focuses on how technology might reshape payments going forward. It considers the policy issues and choices associated with crypto-currencies, stablecoins and sovereign digital currencies and emphasises that there is no single model for sovereign digital currency design.While Bitcoin...

We study how the introduction of a central bank-issued digital currency affects interest rates, the level of economic activity, and welfare in an environment where both central bank money and private bank deposits are used in exchange. Banks in our model are financially constrained, and the...