58 Items

a digital network of currencies with USD coin in the middle

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Analysis & Opinions - forkast

Why the Cloud Will Be Critical to U.S. Competitiveness in World Finance

| Feb. 02, 2023

The Russo-Ukrainian war has bred an opportunity for stablecoins to be used as a store of illicit value as well as a store of legitimate value for people interested in maintaining savings through crisis. A recent Chainalysis report highlights this trend, finding that the share of stablecoins’ transaction volume on primarily Russian services grew from 42% in January to 67% in March last year after the invasion and has continued to increase since. However, taking into account illicit uses of stablecoins and blockchain-based currencies, we also note the demand for robust financial systems that can operate during times of geopolitical stress, sanctions and high throughput. These issues have also incentivized governments to speed up their exploration of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) that can increase efficiency, decrease transaction costs and speed up settlement times. But the continued and future operation of CBDC and stablecoin networks — which will be integral to the financial system of tomorrow — will require the expansion of resilient and secure cloud-based infrastructures, no matter whether the architecture is centralized or based on a distributed ledger template.

Digital currency "coins."

Arthur Mazi

Analysis & Opinions - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

What Will Determine the Future of Money?

| May 25, 2022

The international economy is beginning to fracture around the development of novel digital currencies and the human values that their systems represent. Since currencies represent a commonly accepted medium of exchange and can act as an enabler or disabler of economic relationships, they have the power to shape how the global economy functions.

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Analysis & Opinions - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

The Umbrella of U.S. Economic Competitiveness

| Sep. 30, 2021

American dollar innovation and continued economic competitiveness in the modern financial systems relies on the ability to harness a fast, secure, and privacy driven mobile and internet-native banking system that encourages continued engagement and reliance on the U.S. dollar. 

In this June 1, 2021, file photo, a woman walks past an advertisement for the Bitcoin cryptocurrency in Hong Kong.

AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File

Analysis & Opinions - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

How Digital Assets will Impact Financial Inclusion and Energy Consumption

| Aug. 10, 2021

Built into the design of digital asset platforms are aspects of equity that have simply not been part of the traditional banking system. This is the central facet of an argument for the adoption of digital assets because it boasts a cascading waterfall of advantages for an economy. Since economic empowerment often comes from the ability to build credit, hold a savings account, and increase buying power of consumers and businesses, it only follows that greater financial inclusion would boost these abilities.

American dollar USD symbol made of golden numbers

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Analysis & Opinions - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Why a Digital Dollar is Good for the World

| June 04, 2021

Today, the whole of the U.S. economic system provides a much-needed public good in the form of an efficient and trustworthy financial infrastructure that supports a functioning global economy. Maintaining the dollar’s value and centrality in the global financial systems will require leadership, flexibility, and innovation.