PRINCETON, N.J.—Central banks must embrace the revolution under way in digital money to ensure they remain at the heart of the global payments system, according to the head of the Bank of International Settlements.
Agustin Carstens’s argument, presented during his speech at Princeton University, is that while the private sector “excels at customer-facing activity,” central banks provide the basis for trust, ensure liquidity and set standards, Bloomberg explained.
“He’s unenthusiastic about Bitcoin and worried that big tech companies like Facebook offering payment services means they could become unfairly dominant because of their existing data resources,” Bloomberg reported.
“We have a responsibility to be at the cutting edge of the debate,” Carsten said. “There is really no choice but to do so, as otherwise events will overtake us.”