Econs (a non-profit project of the communications department of the Russian central bank), February 13, 2020. HTML.

Russian version of my VoxEU column on digital money and CBDC. What are we actually talking about? What do we know? And what should policymakers do? I discuss the following points:

• Finance has been digital forever – what’s new about ‘digital money’?
• Does the nature of money change?
• What is central bank digital currency?
• What is the link between CBDC and the blockchain?
• Would CBDC have macroeconomic effects?
• Would CBDC foster bank disintermediation and bank runs?
• Why consider CBDC at all?
• What opportunities does CBDC offer?
• Where do the risks lie?
• Do the opportunities justify the risks?
• Do central banks have a choice?