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Should cryptocurrencies be included in the portfolio of international reserves held by central banks?

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  • Winston Moore
  • Jeremy Stephen
  • Caroline Elliott

Abstract

In most countries, the central bank is required to hold reserve assets as a means of providing credibility for the value of the fiat currency. These assets can be in the form of gold, foreign exchange or some other internationally recognised reserve asset and are held to permit the country to engage in international transactions. Within recent years, cryptocurrencies have been increasingly utilised for international transactions, and it is possible that the use of these cryptocurrencies might expand in the future. This paper therefore examines the potential role of digital currency balances as part of the portfolio of external assets held by a central bank. Using the case of Barbados, the paper also provides a simulation of the effect holding some proportion of their asset-base would have had on the stability of the foreign reserves as well as the return on the portfolio of assets.

Suggested Citation

  • Winston Moore & Jeremy Stephen & Caroline Elliott, 2016. "Should cryptocurrencies be included in the portfolio of international reserves held by central banks?," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(1), pages 1147119-114, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:oaefxx:v:4:y:2016:i:1:p:1147119
    DOI: 10.1080/23322039.2016.1147119
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Sean Foley & Jonathan R Karlsen & Tālis J Putniņš, 2019. "Sex, Drugs, and Bitcoin: How Much Illegal Activity Is Financed through Cryptocurrencies?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(5), pages 1798-1853.
    2. Sarika Murty & Vijay Victor & Maria Fekete-Farkas, 2022. "Is Bitcoin a Safe Haven for Indian Investors? A GARCH Volatility Analysis," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-13, July.
    3. Andrew Clark & Alexander Mihailov, 2019. "Why private cryptocurrencies cannot serve as international reserves but central bank digital currencies can," Economics Discussion Papers em-dp2019-09, Department of Economics, University of Reading.
    4. Panagiotidis, Theodore & Stengos, Thanasis & Vravosinos, Orestis, 2019. "The effects of markets, uncertainty and search intensity on bitcoin returns," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 220-242.
    5. Pattnaik, Debidutta & Hassan, M. Kabir & Dsouza, Arun & Tiwari, Aviral & Devji, Shridev, 2023. "Ex-post facto analysis of cryptocurrency literature over a decade using bibliometric technique," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).

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