The Bank of Japan (BoJ) introduced a negative interest rate policy on February 16th, a move that resulted in the disappearance of an alarming amount of ¥10,000-notes: the public, fearing the consequences of such a policy, reacted by hoardingThe term refers to the use of cash as a store of value. However, the term has a negative connotation of concealment, and is often used in the context of the war on cash. See Precautionary Holdings. More Japan’s largest denominationEach individual value in a series of banknotes or coins. More.
The BoJ could make the decision to inject more banknotes into the economy, at the risk of only causing greater confusion and loss of confidence. A possible solution would be to adopt Bank of England’s Chief Economist, Andy Haldane’s proposition to fully do-away with physical bills and only employ blockchainAn unchangeable digital record where transactions are processed and verified by a network of independent computers rather than by a single referee. This decentralised structure has been described as an open distributed ledger. It supposedly enhances security as there is no single entity to be hacked. It also protects personal identity and guarantees that governments can’t block transactions or otherwise manipulate the payments space. The blockchain is the underlying technology supporting most ... More tools for Japan’s monetary policy.
Haldane’s anti-cash speeches in late 2015 caused outrage from the public and central bank officials alike. A direct result of his policy would be the public’s loss of freedom in terms money-management habits: they would have no choice but to pay the bank’s negative interest rates being limited to nothing other than digital wallets.
But blockchain-adoption might not be the only solution in the country of the Mt. Gox exchange scandal. Issuing debit cards with a fixed amount of moneyFrom the Latin word moneta, nickname that was given by Romans to the goddess Juno because there was a minting workshop next to her temple. Money is any item that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular region, country or socio-economic context. Its onset dates back to the origins of humanity and its physical representation has taken on very varied forms until the appearance of metal coins. The banknote, a typical representati... More to Japanese consumers could be a solution to stimulate a stagnating economy. Or, the government could simply offer zero-coupon bonds to investors, thus reducing the country’s debt.
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