Smartbond (monetary system)

Last updated

Smartbond is a monetary system, based on a currency of the same name, which operates independently of any government institution.

The system implements economic principles including the Friedman k-percent rule (with the money supply growth rate fixed at 6%), and the avoidance of fractional-reserve banking. [1] The rules of the Smartbond system also include a guarantee that all money supply growth is distributed as interest to currency holders, and an exchange rate floor (against USD) backed by reserves. [2] The system uses blockchain technology to keep track of units of the Smartbond currency. This allows for its rules to be applied automatically rather than through the institutions of a sovereign state, as a traditional monetary system. [3]

Context

During the period that followed the financial crisis of 2007-08, major economies introduced quantitative easing [ clarification needed ] (US, Eurozone, Japan) and subsequently negative interest rates [ when? ] (Eurozone, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland). These policies of expanding the money supply and setting zero or negative interest rates have been consistent with central bank mandates for targeting inflation, given the accompanying deflationary environment. The Smartbond system in contrast follows a predetermined money supply growth, and imposes that this growth can only occur through interest earned by currency holders. As a result, there is no policy-making discretion to expand the money supply beyond its predetermined growth trajectory, or to suppress interest rates. [4]

Related Research Articles

Central bank Government body that manages currency and monetary policy

A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a state or formal monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the monetary base. Most central banks also have supervisory and regulatory powers to ensure the stability of member institutions, to prevent bank runs, and to discourage reckless or fraudulent behavior by member banks.

Monetarism School of thought in monetary economics

Monetarism is a school of thought in monetary economics that emphasizes the role of governments in controlling the amount of money in circulation. Monetarist theory asserts that variations in the money supply have major influences on national output in the short run and on price levels over longer periods. Monetarists assert that the objectives of monetary policy are best met by targeting the growth rate of the money supply rather than by engaging in discretionary monetary policy. Monetarism is commonly associated with neoliberalism.

Deflation Decrease in the general price level of goods and services

In economics, deflation is a decrease in the general price level of goods and services. Deflation occurs when the inflation rate falls below 0%. Inflation reduces the value of currency over time, but sudden deflation increases it. This allows more goods and services to be bought than before with the same amount of currency. Deflation is distinct from disinflation, a slow-down in the inflation rate, i.e. when inflation declines to a lower rate but is still positive.

Interest rate Percentage of a sum of money charged for its use

An interest rate is the amount of interest due per period, as a proportion of the amount lent, deposited, or borrowed. The total interest on an amount lent or borrowed depends on the principal sum, the interest rate, the compounding frequency, and the length of time over which it is lent, deposited, or borrowed.

Monetary policy of the United States

Monetary policy of The United States concerns those policies related to the minting & printing of money, policies governing the legal exchange of currency, demand deposits, the money supply, etc. In the United States, the central bank, The Federal Reserve System, colloquially known as "The Fed" is the monetary authority.

Money supply Total value of money available in an economy at a specific point in time

In macroeconomics, the money supply refers to the total volume of currency held by the public at a particular point in time. There are several ways to define "money", but standard measures usually include currency in circulation and demand deposits. The central bank of a country may use a definition of what constitutes legal tender for its purposes.

The economy of governments covers the systems for setting levels of taxation, government budgets, the money supply and interest rates as well as the labour market, national ownership, and many other areas of government interventions into the economy.

Global financial system Global framework for capital flows

The global financial system is the worldwide framework of legal agreements, institutions, and both formal and informal economic actors that together facilitate international flows of financial capital for purposes of investment and trade financing. Since emerging in the late 19th century during the first modern wave of economic globalization, its evolution is marked by the establishment of central banks, multilateral treaties, and intergovernmental organizations aimed at improving the transparency, regulation, and effectiveness of international markets. In the late 1800s, world migration and communication technology facilitated unprecedented growth in international trade and investment. At the onset of World War I, trade contracted as foreign exchange markets became paralyzed by money market illiquidity. Countries sought to defend against external shocks with protectionist policies and trade virtually halted by 1933, worsening the effects of the global Great Depression until a series of reciprocal trade agreements slowly reduced tariffs worldwide. Efforts to revamp the international monetary system after World War II improved exchange rate stability, fostering record growth in global finance.

Monetary policy Policy of interest rates or money supply

Monetary policy is the policy adopted by the monetary authority of a nation to control either the interest rate payable for very short-term borrowing or the money supply, often as an attempt to reduce inflation or the interest rate, to ensure price stability and general trust of the value and stability of the nation's currency.

The Bretton Woods system of monetary management established the rules for commercial and financial relations among the United States, Canada, Western European countries, Australia, and Japan after the 1944 Bretton Woods Agreement. The Bretton Woods system was the first example of a fully negotiated monetary order intended to govern monetary relations among independent states. The Bretton Woods system required countries to guarantee convertibility of their currencies into U.S. dollars to within 1% of fixed parity rates, with the dollar convertible to gold bullion for foreign governments and central banks at US$35 per troy ounce of fine gold. It also envisioned greater cooperation among countries in order to prevent future competitive devaluations, and thus established the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to monitor exchange rates and lend reserve currencies to nations with balance of payments deficits.

Monetary base Measure of money supply

In economics, the monetary base in a country is the total amount of money created by the central bank. This includes:

A reserve requirement is a central bank regulation that sets the minimum amount that a commercial bank must hold in liquid assets. This minimum amount, commonly referred to as the commercial bank's reserve, is generally determined by the central bank on the basis of a specified proportion of deposit liabilities of the bank. This rate is commonly referred to as the reserve ratio. Though the definitions vary, the commercial bank's reserves normally consist of cash held by the bank and stored physically in the bank vault, plus the amount of the bank's balance in that bank's account with the central bank. A bank is at liberty to hold in reserve sums above this minimum requirement, commonly referred to as excess reserves.

Foreign Exchange Reserves are cash and other reserve assets such as gold held by a central bank or other monetary authority that are primarily available to balance payments of the country, influence the foreign exchange rate of its currency, and to maintain confidence in financial markets. Reserves are held in one or more reserve currencies, nowadays mostly the United States dollar and to a lesser extent the euro.

Money creation Process by which the money supply of an economic region is increased

Money creation, or money issuance, is the process by which the money supply of a country, or of an economic or monetary region, is increased. In most modern economies, money creation is controlled by the central banks. Money issued by central banks is termed base money. Central banks can increase the quantity of base money directly, by engaging in open market operations. However, the majority of the money supply is created by the commercial banking system in the form of bank deposits. Bank loans issued by commercial banks that practice fractional reserve banking expands the quantity of broad money to more than the original amount of base money issued by the central bank.

Bank rate, also known as discount rate in American English, is the rate of interest which a central bank charges on its loans and advances to a commercial bank. The bank rate is known by a number of different terms depending on the country, and has changed over time in some countries as the mechanisms used to manage the rate have changed.

Bank of Canada Central bank of Canada

The Bank of Canada is a Crown corporation and Canada's central bank. Chartered in 1934 under the Bank of Canada Act, it is responsible for formulating Canada's monetary policy, and for the promotion of a safe and sound financial system within Canada. The Bank of Canada is the sole issuing authority of Canadian banknotes, provides banking services and money management for the government, and loans money to Canadian financial institutions. The contract to produce the banknotes has been held by the Canadian Bank Note Company since 1935.

Quantitative easing Monetary policy tool

Quantitative easing (QE) is a monetary policy whereby a central bank purchases predetermined amounts of government bonds or other financial assets in order to inject money into the economy to expand economic activity. Quantitative easing is an unconventional form of monetary policy, which is usually used when inflation is very low or negative, and when standard monetary policy instruments have become ineffective. Quantitative tightening (QT) does the opposite, where for monetary policy reasons, a central bank sells off some portion of its own held or previously purchased government bonds or other financial assets, to a mix of commercial banks and other financial institutions, usually after periods of their own, earlier, quantitative easing purchases.

A fixed exchange rate, often called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime in which a currency's value is fixed or pegged by a monetary authority against the value of another currency, a basket of other currencies, or another measure of value, such as gold.

Monetary policy is the monitoring and control of money supply by a central bank, such as the Federal Reserve Board in the United States of America, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in the Philippines. This is used by the government to be able to control inflation, and stabilize currency. Monetary Policy is considered to be one of the two ways that the government can influence the economy – the other one being Fiscal Policy. Monetary Policy is generally the process by which the central bank, or government controls the supply and availability of money, the cost of money, and the rate of interest.

References

  1. "Smartbond – An Introduction". smartbond.fund. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  2. "Smartbond – Frequently Asked Questions". smartbond.fund. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  3. Desan, Christine (2014). Making Money: Coin, Currency and the Coming of Capitalism. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. p. 11. ISBN   9780198709572.
  4. Sloman, John; Wride, Alison; Garratt, Dean (2015). Economics (9th ed.). Harlow, UK: Pearson. p. 657. ISBN   9781292064840.