Jeremy Stephen & Winston Moore: Barbados, Bitcoin and Central Banking

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For orthodox Bitcoiners central banks are often seen as the incarnation of evil. But , alas, in the case of two Carribean central banking economists the feeling of reprehension wasn’t reciprocated. Winston Moore and Jeremy Stephen were formerly associated with the Central Bank of Barados and fascinated by the potential of cryptocurrencies, they explored the consequences of their central bank holding Bitcoin as part of their international reserves. They joined us for a discussion of central banking, the pecularities of monetary policy in a small island nation and what Bitcoin could bring to the equation.

Topics covered in this episode:

• The function of central banks
• The role international reserves hold for central banks
• The peculiar challenges of central banks of small island nation states
• How speculative attacks on central banks work
• Why central banks may want to hold cryptocurrencies as part of their portfolio
• How Bitt plans to issue Barbados Dollar using the Bitcoin blockchain and the open asset protocol

Episode links:

• Paper on inclusion of cryptocurrencies in international reserve portfolio of Central Bank of Barbados [PDF]
• Barbados Cryptocurrency Startup Bitt
• Bitt launches Barbados Dollar on blockchain
• Winston Moore's Website
• Jeremy Stephen's Website
• EB Episode 83 with David Andolfatto on Fedcoin and central bank issued cryptocurrencies

This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Meher Roy. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/121