Daniel Gros is a Member of the Board and Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) in Brussels. Prior to joining CEPS, Daniel worked at the IMF and at the European Commission as economic adviser to the Delors Committee that developed the plans for the euro.
During his time with us, Daniel will work on a project on central bank digital currencies with a view to publishing the research as a book.
His project will look at the long evolutionary process pre-dating the digital age of money adapting to new technologies which lead recurrently to new forms of money, because they are more convenient and practical. Along this process the fundamental nature of money remains the same. Today’s digital-crypto instruments are unlikely to be different in this respect.
“A key overlooked fact is that most money today is already digital, via cards, apps and a multiplicity of online and computer-based means”, he says. “Crypto-currencies, stable coins and Central Bank Digital Currencies are unlikely to add much to an already rich and diversified payment ecosystem - at least in Europe where (retail) transactions are quicker and lower cost than in the US.”