Submission to the House of Commons Treasury Committee - Digital Currencies Inquiry

Abstract

In 2018 the House of Commons Treasury Committee launched an inquiry into role of digital currencies in the UK, including the opportunities and risks that digital currencies may bring to consumers, businesses, and the Government. It also examined the potential impact of distributed ledger technology — such as block-chain — on financial institutions, including the central bank, and financial infrastructure.

This paper was a joint a response from Martin Walker (Center for Evidence Based Management) and Izabella Kaminska (Financial Times) was a response to the inquiries request for information and analysis on the topic. The paper discusses the definitions of the term “Digital Currrencies”, the role of cryptocurrencies in the UK and explains the potential and the risks of more widespread adoption. It also provides an overview of Distributed ledger technology, its history, technical characteristics and potential applications in modern banking.

Keywords: bitcoin, block-chain, smart contract, economics