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THE BATTLE FOR BITCOIN
https://archives.battleofideas.org.uk/2021/session/the-battle-for-bitcoin/

Over the past decade, Bitcoin has gone from a niche hobby of online libertarians and anarchists to the financial mainstream. During the Covid-19 pandemic, a flurry of online speculators helped push the currency’s price sky-high, once more attracting media attention. This time, however, the crypto-currency attracted more serious attention from the professional world of finance.

But despite this growing adoption, it is still unclear to many what the actual purpose of Bitcoin is. Is it a store of value to protect against the collapse of the dollar and hyperinflation? A means for criminals to carry out illicit transactions? Maybe it is just a fun online game – a tool for people to speculate and gamble? Or perhaps, as it was originally intended, it is still a way to make online payments?

Whatever the answer, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies do seem to have spearheaded ideas about digital payments and coins. Facebook, for example, has been exploring the creation of a digital coin to use on its platform, albeit with limited success. But most notably, there has been growing interest from central banks in the form of so-called central bank digital coins (CBDBs). Central banks across the world have expressed interest in the idea, including the Bank of England, European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve. The People’s Bank of China has gone furthest with the idea and is currently trialling the e-yuan.

While the specifics are still being worked out, in theory, this would cut out a whole host of intermediaries when it comes to digital payments. For some, this is an exciting new development, with technology allowing us to move away from the world of physical cash.

However, CBDCs are a far cry away from the anti-state origins of Bitcoin, which was to take power away from the state or other centralised bodies. CBDCs, however, would see a further centralisation of power in the hands of state institutions. Indeed, the increased power of central banks and other monetary authorities is often one of the touted benefits of CBDCs. Some have speculated that CBDCs could be transferred to citizens with an expiration date, creating a quicker and more efficient fiscal stimulus.

So, while the future of money and finance appears to be increasingly digital, which version will win out? The decentralised, anti-state vision of Bitcoin and its offspring? Or will the more stable, centralised and, arguably, trustworthy central bank digital coins be the future?

SPEAKERS
Donald Clark
tech entrepreneur; investor; professor; author; founder, Epic plc; CEO, WildFire

Frances Coppola
financial writer, Coppola Comment and Coindesk

Jeremy Hildreth
author, Unfuckwithable Money and Brand America; travel writer; commentator, Wall Street Journal, Spectator, Monocle, the New York Post and the Washington Times

Jemima Kelly
Alphaville reporter and Notebook columnist, Financial Times; former FX/fintech correspondent, Reuters

James Woudhuysen
visiting professor, London South Bank University; co-author, Energise! A future for energy innovation; co-author, Why is construction so backward?

CHAIR
Tom Bailey
financial journalist

The Battle For Bitcoin

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