Klaas Knot: Public money - keeping up with the times
Opening remarks by Mr Klaas Knot, President of the Netherlands Bank, to the European House-Ambrosetti's panel on "Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs): The Future of Money", Cernobbio, 5 April 2024.
The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.
Hello everyone. It is a pleasure to be back in Italy. Back at the Lago di Como. Back at the Villa d'Este.
Lake Como has been drawing people to its shores ever since Roman times. So, it is no wonder it does so too, today – and not only physically, like us, but also in the digital world.
Apparently, somewhere on the digital shores of Lake Como, the first so-called Metaverse Mansion was built. So, also in cyberspace these shores are a desirable place to spend time.
Everywhere you look, the world around us is digitalising rapidly.
And so, you might ask: isn't it high time for the coins and banknotes in our wallets to do the same? Isn't it high time for our central bank currencies to go digital? And the answer is, of course, yes.
Let me elaborate on three reasons why central banks around the world are investigating CBDCs.
First, our banknotes have stood the test of time, but central banks are making sure that they also keep up with the times. As the world is digitalizing, so are central banks.