Developing the Right Regulatory Regime for Cryptocurrencies and Other Value Data

Abstract

Abstract This chapter considers the regulatory regime for cryptocurrencies and other value data (defined as assets which are both excludable and rivalrous, recorded by a trusted technology rather than booked by a qualified intermediary). It begins with a discussion of changes in selected monetary assets and manifestations — namely banknotes and central bank reserve balances — that have occurred over time. It then describes three modes of money creation and their effect on the substance of an asset: money created on a temporary basis; outright money created with no connected reversal event; and by issue of helicopter money. It also analyses the different forms in which cryptocurrencies manifest themselves and their consequences for the rules governing title, transfer and protection of commercial dealings. Finally, it explores the excludable and rivalrous nature of value data and the manifestation of such data by entry in a register kept by a trusted technology.