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Can We Stabilize the Price of a Cryptocurrency?: Understanding the Design of Bitcoin and Its Potential to Compete with Central Bank Money

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  • Iwamura, Mitsuru
  • Kitamura, Yukinobu
  • Matsumoto, Tsutomu
  • Saito, Kenji

Abstract

This paper discusses the potential and limitations of Bitcoin as a digital currency. Bitcoin as a digital asset has been extensively discussed from the viewpoints of engineering and security design. But there are few economic analyses of Bitcoin as a currency. Bitcoin was designed as a payments vehicle and as a store of value (or speculation). It has no use bar as money or currency. Despite recent enthusiasm for Bitcoin, it seems very unlikely that currencies provided by central banks are at risk of being replaced, primarily because of the market price instability of Bitcoin (i.e. the exchange rate against the major currencies). We diagnose the instability of market price of Bitcoin as being a symptom of the lack of flexibility in the Bitcoin supply schedule ‐ a predetermined algorithm in which the proof of work is the major driving force. This paper explores the problem of instability from the viewpoint of economics and suggests a new monetary policy rule (i.e. monetary policy without a central bank) for stabilizing the values of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Suggested Citation

  • Iwamura, Mitsuru & Kitamura, Yukinobu & Matsumoto, Tsutomu & Saito, Kenji, 2014. "Can We Stabilize the Price of a Cryptocurrency?: Understanding the Design of Bitcoin and Its Potential to Compete with Central Bank Money," Discussion Paper Series 617, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    • Handle: RePEc:hit:hituec:617
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ross M. Starr, 2012. "Why is there Money?," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13763.
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    Cited by:

    1. Min-Bin Lin & Kainat Khowaja & Cathy Yi-Hsuan Chen & Wolfgang Karl Hardle, 2020. "Blockchain mechanism and distributional characteristics of cryptos," Papers 2011.13240, arXiv.org, revised Aug 2021.
    2. repec:agr:journl:v:2(602):y:2015:i:2(602):p:77-90 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Pınar Kaya Soylu & Mustafa Okur & Özgür Çatıkkaş & Z. Ayca Altintig, 2020. "Long Memory in the Volatility of Selected Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-21, May.
    4. Meegan, Andrew & Corbet, Shaen & Larkin, Charles & Lucey, Brian, 2021. "Does cryptocurrency pricing response to regulatory intervention depend on underlying blockchain architecture?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    5. Julián A. Parra & Carlos Arango - Joaquín Bernal & José E. Gómez - Javier Gómez & Carlos León - Clara Machado & Daniel Osorio - Daniel Rojas & Nicolás Suárez - Eduardo Yanquen, 2019. "Criptoactivos: análisis y revisión de literatura," Revista ESPE - Ensayos Sobre Política Económica, Banco de la República, issue 92, pages 1-37, November.
    6. Chung, Kenneth Hsien Yung & Li, Dan & Adriaens, Peter, 2023. "Technology-enabled financing of sustainable infrastructure: A case for blockchains and decentralized oracle networks," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    7. Makoto Saito, 2021. "Central Bank Cryptocurrencies in a Competitive Equilibrium Environment: Can Strong Money Demand Survive in the Digital Age?," Advances in Japanese Business and Economics, in: Strong Money Demand in Financing War and Peace, pages 161-189, Springer.
    8. Park, Sangjin & Jang, Kwahngsoo & Yang, Jae-Suk, 2021. "Information flow between bitcoin and other financial assets," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 566(C).
    9. Chen, Xia & Miraz, Mahadi Hasan & Gazi, Md. Abu Issa & Rahaman, Md. Atikur & Habib, Md. Mamun & Hossain, Abu Ishaque, 2022. "Factors affecting cryptocurrency adoption in digital business transactions: The mediating role of customer satisfaction," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    10. Kenji Saito & Yutaka Soejima & Toshihiko Sugiura & Yukinobu Kitamura & Mitsuru Iwamura, 2023. "Is Ethereum Proof of Stake Sustainable? $-$ Considering from the Perspective of Competition Among Smart Contract Platforms $-$," Papers 2309.11394, arXiv.org.
    11. Koichiro Kamada, 2017. "The Transactions Demand for Paper and Digital Currencies," IMES Discussion Paper Series 17-E-06, Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies, Bank of Japan.
    12. Romi Kher & Siri Terjesen & Chen Liu, 2021. "Blockchain, Bitcoin, and ICOs: a review and research agenda," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 1699-1720, April.
    13. Fenghua Wen & Xin Yang & Xu Gong & Kin Keung Lai, 2017. "Multi-Scale Volatility Feature Analysis and Prediction of Gold Price," International Journal of Information Technology & Decision Making (IJITDM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 16(01), pages 205-223, January.
    14. Christoph Wronka, 2024. "Crypto-asset activities and markets in the European Union: issues, challenges and considerations for regulation, supervision and oversight," Journal of Banking Regulation, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 25(1), pages 84-93, March.
    15. Sunghun Chung & Keongtae Kim & Chul Ho Lee & Wonseok Oh, 2023. "Interdependence between online peer‐to‐peer lending and cryptocurrency markets and its effects on financial inclusion," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 32(6), pages 1939-1957, June.
    16. Mahboubeh Faghih Mohammadi Jalali & Hanif Heidari, 2020. "Predicting changes in Bitcoin price using grey system theory," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 6(1), pages 1-12, December.
    17. 斉藤, 賢爾 & SAITO, Kenji & 副島, 豊 & SOEJIMA, Yutaka & 杉浦, 俊彦 & SUGIURA, Toshihiko & 北村, 行伸 & KITAMURA, Yukinobu & 岩村, 充 & IWAMURA, Mitsuru, 2023. "Ethereum Proof of Stake は持続可能か : スマートコントラクト基盤間競争の観点から考える, Is Ethereum Proof of Stake Sustainable? : Considering from the Perspective of Competition Among Smart Contract Platforms," Discussion Paper Series 748, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    18. Angela ROGOJANU & Liana BADEA, 2015. "The issue of “true” money in front of the BitCoin's offensive," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania - AGER, vol. 0(2(603), S), pages 77-90, Summer.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bitcoin; Cryptocurrency; Currency competition; Friedrich A. Hayek; Proof of work;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B31 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals - - - Individuals
    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • E51 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Money Supply; Credit; Money Multipliers

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