Dr. Christian Hofmann is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law of the National University of Singapore, where he holds the positions of Deputy Director at the Centre for Asian Legal Studies (CALS) and Head of Financial Regulation and Central Banking at the Centre for Banking & Finance Law (CBFL). Prior to joining NUS Law, he was a senior legal counsel for the German Central Bank and a law professor at the Private University in the Principality of Liechtenstein. He held many further research and teaching appointments with law faculties in Europe, North America and Asia, among them as a Global Research Fellow at NYU, Visiting Scholar and Humboldt Fellow at UC Berkeley, and Visiting Fellow of the Commercial Law Centre at Harris Manchester College, Oxford. Christian’s research focuses on Banking Law, Financial Regulation, Comparative Company Law, European Union Law and Comparative Civil Law.
Why a Digital Dollar could Benefit Singapore
Abstract:
The growing popularity of digital tokens has alarmed central banks around the world and galvanised them to develop a digital version of their currencies. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is no exception, and it has been exploring the benefits and risks of a digital version of the Singapore dollar (digital SGD). This talk discusses the implications of a digital SGD on the public’s choices for store of value and payment transactions, the funding model of the banking industry, and the monetary policy operations of MAS. In discussing the changes that a digital SGD would trigger, it revisits fundamental topics such as the numerus clausus of existing types of official money, the funding models of banks, central banks’ authority to issue banknotes, and the concept of legal tender. It concludes that introducing a digital SGD would have net positive effects and recommends for MAS to keep pace with the strong digital impetus in financial markets in order to modernise its currency system.