Dear Editors and Reporters Yao Maodun
Every reporter Yao Maodun
Yesterday (January 20), the central bank announced that a digital currency seminar would be held in Beijing that day. Digital currency research experts from the central bank, Citibank, and Deloitte conducted discussions and exchanges on topics such as the overall framework of digital currency issuance, national digital currencies in the evolution of currency, and state-issued encrypted electronic currencies.
The central bank stated that its digital currency research team should actively absorb important results and practical experience in digital currency research at home and abroad, carry out key technical research, and strive to launch a digital currency issued by the central bank as soon as possible.
The latest statement from the central bank has once again drawn attention to the blockchain technology behind digital currencies. So, what do experts think of the central bank’s latest attitude? Can digital currency become a reality with the help of blockchain technology?
In this regard, Mr. Yang, an anonymous blockchain technology expert, told the "Daily Economic News" reporter that one of the characteristics of blockchain technology is decentralization. The entire system has no centralized management organization and hardware; blockchain technology is also trustless. Data exchange between any nodes in the system does not require mutual trust, because all rules are transparent, all data content is public, and no one has the ability to tamper and manipulate. This also means that no institution can change the issuance of currency according to its own wishes. Digital currency is the next form of money, and this trend should be foreseeable.
Central Bank: Exploring the issuance of digital currency has positive and practical significance
The above-mentioned meeting pointed out that with the development of information technology and the evolution of mobile Internet, trusted and controllable cloud computing, terminal secure storage, blockchain and other technologies, global payment methods have undergone tremendous changes, and the development of digital currencies is affecting the currency of central banks. Issuance and monetary policy bring new opportunities and challenges.
In response to this trend, the central bank attaches great importance to it. A dedicated research team has been established since 2014 and further strengthened in early 2015 to conduct research on the issuance and business operation framework of digital currency, key technologies of digital currency, and the issuance and circulation of digital currency. Conducted in-depth and phased research on the environment of digital currency, legal issues faced, the impact of digital currency on the economic and financial system, the relationship between legal digital currency and privately issued digital currency, and the issuance experience of international digital currency. Results have been achieved.
The meeting believed that under my country's current economic new normal, exploring the issuance of digital currency by the central bank has positive practical significance and far-reaching historical significance. Issuing digital currency can reduce the high cost of issuance and circulation of traditional banknotes, improve the convenience and transparency of economic transactions, reduce illegal and criminal activities such as money laundering and tax evasion, enhance the central bank's control over currency supply and currency circulation, and better support economic and social development. . In the future, the establishment of a digital currency issuance and circulation system will also help our country build new financial infrastructure, further improve our country's payment system, improve payment and settlement efficiency, and promote economic quality and efficiency upgrades.
The "Daily Economic News" reporter noted that the central bank also stated that its digital currency research team should actively absorb important results and practical experience of domestic and foreign digital currency research, continue to advance on the basis of preliminary work, and further clarify the central bank's issuance of digital currency. Strategy. The goal is to do a good job in key technology research, study the multi-scenario application of digital currency, and strive to launch a digital currency issued by the central bank as soon as possible. The design of digital currency should be based on the principles of economy, convenience, and security, effectively ensure the low cost and wide coverage of digital currency applications, realize the seamless connection between digital currency and other payment tools, and enhance the applicability and vitality of digital currency. Digital currency.
Expert: Digital currency will become a trend
At present, talking about digital currency seems to give people a feeling that is both lofty and illusory. So, what is digital currency? What are the characteristics of the blockchain technology behind it? Will digital currencies become a trend?
"Daily Economic News" reporters reviewed public information and found that the so-called digital currency refers to alternative currencies in the form of electronic currency. Digital gold coins and cryptocurrencies are both digital currencies. But it cannot be completely equated to virtual currency in the virtual world, because it is often used for real goods and service transactions and is not limited to virtual spaces such as online games.
Currently, currency issuance in most countries in the world is controlled by the government, and central banks do not recognize or issue digital currencies. It is reported that thousands of digital currencies have been issued around the world. Among them, virtual currencies represented by Bitcoin, Litecoin, etc. have been discovered quickly in recent years and are also well known by many domestic investors.
In December 2013, the central bank and five other ministries and commissions issued the "Notice on Preventing Bitcoin Risks." The notice stated that Bitcoin is not issued by a monetary authority, does not have legal and mandatory currency attributes, and is not a real currency. currency.
"There will be no paper money in the future." Huang Zhen, director of the Institute of Financial Law at the Central University of Finance and Economics, said in an interview with the media that the central bank's statement yesterday sent a signal that digitization is a trend and currencies will also be digitized in the future.
Bai Chengyu, secretary-general of the China Microfinance Alliance, believes that now we are in the era of "digital currency discovery" and that digital currency is the gold of the Internet era.
The reporter noticed that many companies such as UnionPay and Alibaba also announced research into blockchain technology.
Industry insiders pointed out that after banks adopt blockchain technology, they can not only improve service quality but also reduce operating costs. For example, the cost of transferring money between banks is currently very high. If blockchain technology is used, low cost or even zero cost can be achieved.
Mr. Yang told the "Daily Economic News" reporter that blockchain technology is decentralized and the rights and obligations between nodes are equal. If applied to digital currency, it means that no institution can change it according to its own wishes. Monetary aggregate, but current mainstream economic theory believes that the government has the responsibility to adjust monetary policy accordingly according to the economic situation. Therefore, the contradiction in the middle is a key issue that relevant departments must solve when promoting digital currency. As electronic currency is the next form of currency, this trend should be foreseeable.
Mr. Yang explained that the essence of finance is credit. In a sense, the purpose of financial institutions is to solve credit problems. For example, in third-party payment, if both parties to the transaction trust each other, why do they need this intermediary? The revolutionary breakthrough of blockchain technology is the elimination of trust. In other words, any two nodes in the network (which can be understood as any two people) can complete value transfers such as transfers accurately and fairly without trusting each other. No party has the ability to tamper with data or manipulate transactions. Therefore, once blockchain technology matures, it will reconstruct the underlying logic of the financial industry.
However, achieving digital monetization is not easy. Bai Chengyu said that what we are looking for now is a functional carrier that can solve the so-called value exchange needs in terms of safety and convenience. There are many technical problems that need to be solved; after the technical problems are solved, how will digital currencies be used to replace banknotes in the future? Circulation and distribution require a step-by-step process.
标签： #Digital Currency #Blockchain #Currency #Digital Technology #Daily Economic News
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