Debate rages about the future for digital currencies: cryptocurrencies, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), and stablecoins. The stakes are high: the smart contracts operated on cryptocurrency blockchains have the potential to be a transformative enabling technology for both finance and the broader economy, but this is unlikely to happen until a stronger bridge is built to the familiar world of fiat currencies – and there is no consensus on how this can be done while maintaining the essential integrity of central bank money. This article addresses that question by setting out a vision for an imagined future digital architecture in which there is a “Harmonic Triangle” between CBDC, cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, each playing key, complementary roles.

Read Giles’ essay The Harmonic Triangle: Cryptocurrencies, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), and Stablecoins.