Cash is accused of three sins: First, cash is inefficient and costly to use, and society would be better off without it. Second, it promotes crime, and facilitates money laundering and tax evasion. Third, it makes negative nominal interest rates infeasible. In certain situations, this may hinder...

Blockchain forks can have severe economic implications, sow uncertainty and undermine trust. In this paper, we introduce a formal framework to study the emergence, persistency and economic consequences of blockchain forks. We argue that blockchain forks can be process- or protocol-based and...

In this paper, we propose an autonomous vending machine that is governed by a public Blockchain and smart contracts platform. Set up as a decentralized autonomous organization, it serves as an open marketplace for physical goods, where anyone can buy and/or sell objects. We propose a basic...

This article analyses the opportunities and challenges of tokenization of real estate. First, the theoretical foundations (Blockchain and Smart Contracts) as well as the advantages and disadvantages of tokenization are discussed. The implementation of tokenization of a real estate is then...

Peer-to-peer lending platforms are increasingly important alternatives to traditional forms of credit intermediation for small value loans. There are high hopes that they improve financial inclusion and provide better terms for borrowers. To study these hopes, we introduce altruistic investors...

In the summer of 2002, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) hosted the “SNB-Fed Cleveland Workshop on Monetary Economics”. Recent years have seen the development of the search-theoretic approach to monetary theory. It has established itself as an important strand of monetary theory in a very short...

This paper considers whether fiat money can be provided by a revenue-maximizing monopolist in an environment where money is essential. Two questions arise concerning the private supply of money: Is it feasible and is it optimal? Concerning the feasibility question, I show that the...

This paper studies stationary and nonstationary distributions of money holdings in a random-matching model. The first part characterizes the stationary distributions of money holdings and derives the optimum quantity of money. The second part considers nonstationary distributions of the optimum...

This paper considers a strategic game in which two players, with unequal prospects of winning the game, decide simultaneously and secretly to use performance-enhancing drugs before they compete. In the mixed strategy equilibrium, the favorite player is more likely to take these drugs than is the...

The term digital money refers to various proposed electronic payment mechanisms designed to use by consumers to make retail payments. These mechanisms are based either on smart cards or on network money. Smart cards could potentially replace currency as the predominant means to pay for retail...