Different to private sector and/or decentralised Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Solana and others, central bank digital currencies will be owned and operated centrally by governments, ensuring that the crucial functions of money and payment networks will remain trusted and regulated.
Long before CBDCs were first discussed, as a result of a combination of convenience and the sheer speed of technological development, we have been edging closer and closer toward ‘cashless’ societies. But the global pandemic has quickened the transition from the current hybrid to an increasingly digital-only world of money and finance. Today, over 90% of the world’s governments are either exploring or even already implementing CBDCs, for different reasons but with the same ultimate destination. The future of money, banking and finance will be dominated by CBDCs, and this will not be a small change, but a revolution.
This In-Focus project will explore and debate the benefits and risks of CBDCs as well as its wider societal, political, macro-economic and even geopolitical implications.
Michael Lloyd has considerable professional and commercial experience. Following three years as an Economic Assistant at the TUC, from 1973 to 1980 he was a European Commission Official, principally based in the UK. He left in 1981 to become Director of International Affairs at British Shipbuilders. He was also Economic Adviser to the European Parliament on economic and monetary union during 1997/1998 and subsequently became Director of AMRIE (Alliance of Maritime Regional Interests in Europe), working on a number of European RTD projects. He is the author of numerous books, including an upcoming book on central bank digital currencies.
Taimur Andre Rashid is the Head of the CBDC In Focus programme at the Global Policy Institute (GPI). Prior to joining the GPI, Taimur was the Managing Director of Auto1 FT, a subsidiary of Auto1 Group, and before that Head of Risk at Solarisbank and Kapilendo, two leading fintech companies from Berlin. Before he entered the fintech world, he spent over 15 years in risk management with ratings, credit risk and capital structures, e.g. at Barclays Bank and Standard & Poor’s. Taimur is also considered a proven expert on blockchain topics in the fintech industry.
To learn more about this In Focus project, get in touch with us
Dr Michael Lloyd: m.lloyd@gpilondon.com
Taimur Andre Rashid: t.rashid@gpilondon.com
