Last month, the good people at Focus Economics asked me for my thoughts on cryptocurrencies, allowing either a general outlook or my answers to two specific questions:

1. Could cryptocurrencies supplant traditional currencies or are alternative currencies a bubble that will eventually burst?
2. Could a central bank really issue its own digital currency in the near future? How could this affect the world economy and financial markets?

I went with a general outlook, although I might have used a different format had I realized my response would be printed verbatim alongside twenty others. In any case, it was interesting to see the diversity of views. A few respondents even sounded as though the crypto craze made them angry.

Here’s the link:

https://www.focus-economics.com/blog/cryptocurrencies-block-chain-future

Rereading my own contribution, I should have written that “the vast majority of cryptocurrencies will fail” instead of “many cryptocurrencies will fail.”

And in case you missed it, Bitcoin topped $15,000 this morning.

Tags: alternative currencies, Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, Focus Economics