Digital Assets and the Future of Money

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, a discussion led by CoinDesk's Chief Content Officer Michael Casey, featuring historian Niall Ferguson and Circle Internet Financial's representatives, focused on the evolution of money, the role of cryptocurrency in value exchange history, and regulatory approaches for digital assets. Ferguson highlighted the need to redefine the classical functions of money—store of value, medium of exchange, and unit of account—given the advent of digital currencies and blockchain technology, which enable money to be programmable and execute functions previously impossible. The conversation also addressed misconceptions about stablecoins, particularly dispelling the notion that they resemble "wildcat banking," by emphasizing their fully reserved nature that avoids asset-liability mismatches.