Coronavirus: The Case for Digital Money?

Zura Kakushadze & Jim Kyung-Soo Liew

Published: March 2020


We discuss the advantages of adopting government-issued digital currencies and a supranational digital iCurrency. This will get rid of paper money, a ubiquitous medium for spreading germs, as highlighted by the recent coronavirus outbreak. We set forth three policy recommendations for adapting mobile devices as new digital wallets, regulatory oversight of sovereign digital currencies, and a supranational digital iCurrency. We also argue that the USA should reevaluate its “exorbitant privilege and exorbitant duty” in light of the financial meltdown from the coronavirus outbreak.



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