This dissertation focuses on the proper understanding of digital currencies, its impact on a country’s economy, and how to design and regulate digital currencies. First, we review the current literature on digital currency and discuss the shortcomings of existing research. Second, we focus on the development of monetary forms, digital monetary forms, and the attribution of minting power. Third, we discuss the issue of the attribution of monetary issuance power, taking into account three major factors, that is the laws of historical evolution, the political and ideological demands of the state, and the ability to perform monetary functions (the core of which is the stability of currency values). Furthermore, we conduct an empirical analysis on the impact of Central bank digital currency (CBDC) on the money policy in China. We find that the use of digital money leads to higher inflation, but the effect is not significant. Finally, we discuss the design frameworks and regulatory ideas of digital currency. On this basis, we propose a reference framework for Central bank digital currency (CBDC) design in China, identify the risks of private digital currencies, and put forward corresponding regulatory recommendations. / Business Administration/Finance

Digital currencies (cryptocurrencies) are rapidly becoming commonplace in the global market. Trading is performed similarly to the stock market or commodities, but stock market prediction algorithms are not necessarily well-suited for predicting digital currency prices. In this work, we analyzed tweets with both an existing sentiment analysis package and a manually tailored "objective analysis," resulting in one impact value for each analysis per 15-minute period. We then used evolutionary techniques to select the most appropriate training method and the best subset of the generated features to include, as well as other parameters. This resulted in implementation of predictors which yielded much more profit in four-week simulations than simply holding a digital currency for the same time period--the results ranged from 28% to 122% profit. Unlike stock exchanges, which shut down for several hours or days at a time, digital currency prediction and trading seems to be of a more consistent and predictable nature.

Inspired by the digital revolution to the financial industry, the discussion around central bank digital currency also attract attention from academics and central banks. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is also researching on China’s CBDC: digital currency electronic payment (DCEP) and announced that DCEP would be issued as soon as possible.  However, the PBOC does not systematically disclose the information of DCEP. The characteristics and mechanism design are still obscured and need to be explored deeply. This thesis analysed the classification and mechanism design choices of DCEP from the perspective of two different demands: general demand and central bank demand. Based on pragmatism philosophy, we use a mixed-methods approach that is a combination of qualitative and quantitative research. Through the interview and surveys, we identified the demands from the PBOC and the general public in China and the characteristics of DCEP from official claims. Then generate the design choices via the money flower and the pyramid of CBDC models and compare the result with the demand. The analysis shows that the DCEP belongs to type B general-purpose CB digital tokens, and it would adopt a complex multi-layer hybrid architecture design, with the support from both DLT and conventional way. In conclusion, the current mechanism design choices can meet the demands from each side to a certain extent and reached a delicate balance under the trade-off between privacy and security issues. This thesis provides an insightful view on the classification and design choices of DCEP, fulfils the lack of systematic research relating to the demand and design choices of DCEP, and reveals the public’s insufficient knowledge in DCEP.

Bitcoin is a digital currency that is used by people all around the world. The goal of this paper is to give an idea about how much trust there is in bitcoin among its users. This paper has used an online survey aimed at bitcoinusers and a content analysis to collect data about this trust. The conclusions show that there seems to be some trust in bitcoin as a technology and this is based on that the users have a good understanding about how bitcoin works. They also share their knowledge about bitcoin to people around them. The trust between people in the bitcoin network on the contrary doesn’t seem as high because certain technological properties hurt this trust. The survey showed that only a small percentage of the users started to use bitcoin to buy and sell products, which may indicate a lower degree of trust in other people.

This thesis aims to completely map the problem of new forms of money, called cryptocurrency. It explains the economic principles of functioning these decentralized currencies, particularly emitting (the mining), amount of fees and functioning of the payment system. The work is focused on the currency Bitcoin, for which it describes in detail its origin and development, possibility of simultaneous use (in many examples) as well as possible future scenarios of these currencies. In conclusion, the work describes role of Bitcoin in the current banking system and risks of the Bitcoin.

The main objective of this diploma thesis is to find out the potential of digital currencies to replace contemporary fiat currency. Specifically, the thesis is focused on cryptocurrency Bitcoin, which currently has the highest market value. The thesis is divided into three main chapters. The first one focuses on money itself and its function, not only today but also throughout the history. Second chapter explains substance and functioning of Bitcoin, as well as its role in the current monetary system. Likewise the question of regulatory measures and competition of altcoins is being examined. Final part analyses the future of digital currencies and it compares pros and cons of Bitcoin and money we use today. Furthermore, it is discussed whether Bitcoin is the next bubble in the financial market. In the end, main problems which Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies deal with are mentioned and a possible future development is outlined.

This student paper discusses principals of data collecting and subsequent analysis of data on digital currency exchanges followed by proposition and full implementation of research oriented system capable of solving all relevant tasks and presenting a way for implementing solutions for broad spectrum of related problems.

Författare: Sandra Medenica & Frida Stark Handledare: Joakim Persson Bakgrund: Kontantanvändningen i Sverige idag har minskat i takt med den digitala utvecklingen vilket har skapat plats för nya betalningsmöjligheter, exempelvis kryptovalutor och e-valutor. Samtidigt håller Riksbanken på att utreda möjligheten för en e-krona som skulle medföra att Riksbanken kan reglera penningpolitiken på ett mer effektivt sätt samt bibehålla sin monopolställning som ensam utgivare av pengar på betalningsmarknaden.  Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka vilka effekter en e-krona skulle ha på samhället samt om det finns ett samband mellan priset på Bitcoin och länders intresse för att införa en CBDC.  Metod: Uppsatsen grundar sig på litteraturstudier och ekonomiska teorier för att analysera ekonomiska effekter av en e-krona i Sverige. Utöver det genomförs en regressionsanalys för att härleda ett eventuellt potentiellt samband med data som visar Bitcoinkursen och länders intresse för ett införande av Central Bank Digital Currency, CBDC.  Slutsats: En e-krona skulle medföra att Riksbanken lättare kan genomföra penningpolitiska åtgärder för att stimulera ekonomin samt att de skulle fortsätta bidra med konkurrens på betalningsmarknaden. Affärsbankerna skulle eventuellt kunna påverkas av en undanträngningseffekt i form av att bankinlåningarna minskar vilket leder till att de skulle förlora en del av sin ställning på betalningsmarknaden. Utöver det skulle de kriminella verksamheterna kunna minska när kontanterna fasas ut då de anonyma betalningsmöjligheterna blir färre.  Det finns ett positivt uppskattat samband mellan Bitcoinkursen och länders intresse för ett införande av en CBDC med en korrelation på 0,52. Det innebär att när Bitcoinkursen stiger kommer även länders intresse för en CBDC öka. Detta kan vara en förklaring till ländernas intresse, men fler variabler bör tas i beaktning vid vidare analys. / Authors: Sandra Medenica & Frida Stark Supervisor: Joakim Persson Background: Today´s use of cash in Sweden has decreased along with the digital development, which has created space for new payment options, such as cryptocurrencies and e-currencies. Along with this development, the central bank of Sweden is investigating the possibility of an e-krona, which would allow the central bank of Sweden to regulate the monetary policy in a more efficient way and maintain its monopoly position as the sole issuer of money in the payment market. Purpose: The aim of this essay is to investigate what effects an e-krona would have on society and whether there is a correlation between the price of Bitcoin and countries' interest in introducing a CBDC. Completion: The essay is based on literature studies and economic theories to analyze the economic effects of an e-krona in Sweden. In addition, a regression analysis is performed to deduce a possible correlation with the data showing the Bitcoin exchange rate and countries' interest in the introduction of Central Bank Digital Currency, CBDC. Conclusions: An e-krona would mean that the Riksbank could more easily implement monetary policy measures to stimulate the economy and that they would continue to contribute to competition in the payment market. The commercial banks could possibly be affected by a crowding-out effect in the form of reduced bank deposits, which leads to them losing part of their position in the payment market. In addition, the criminal activities could decrease when the cash is phased out as the anonymous payment options become fewer. There is a positive estimated effect of the bitcoin exchange rate on countries interest of a CBDC with a correlation of 0,52. In other words, when the bitcoin exchange rate rises there is an increase in the countries interest of a CBDC. This might be an explanation for the interest, however, more variables should be considered in the analysis.

Currency has changed a lot, and the introduction of the Internet sped up the evolution of the currency. Digital currency introduced many benefits compared to physical currencies. Ideas such as cryptocurrencies work as an option for other means of payment. During the recent pandemic, interest in new digital currencies has increased, leading to more research on digital currency. With the introduction of new currencies and their increased popularity, many central banks have started looking into the idea of innovating currency. All this new research has coined the term central bank digital currency. As of today, there is no single idea on how a digital currency should work or be implemented. With many variations, the future is still unclear. There seem to be vulnerabilities to solve and many potential ways to improve current systems. When building this new currency it is crucial to know what different use cases could demand from the implementation. In conclusion, the results show that digital currency is still in early development, with central bank digital currency research showing promise. It is theoretically possible to create a better transaction solution contra traditional currencies. More research is needed on the topic of digital currency, but there could be incremental improvements to today’s currency leading to better future solutions. / Valuta har förändrats genom tiderna och introductionen av internet skyndade på denna utveckling. Digital valuta har introducerat många fördelar jämfört med fysiska valutor. Fler idéer som till exempel kryptovalutor har introducerats som alternativa betalmedel. Under den senaste pandemin så har intresset för nya digitala valutor ökat, vilket har lett till mer forskning inom området av digitala valutor. På grund av växande popularitet och nya digitala valutor så har många central banker börjat testa idéen om att nyskapa valuta, och med detta så har termen centralbanks valuta skapats. Det finns inte idag en enda lösning på hur digitala valutor ska fungera eller bli implementerade. Med många varianter så är framtiden fortfarande oklar. Det verkar finnas problem att lösa och många möjliga sätt att förbättra existerande system. Vid byggandet av denna nya valuta så är det extremt viktigt att veta vad som är viktigt och hur det kan finnas olika krav beroende på hur valutan ska användas. Enligt resultaten så är digital valuta fortfarande tidigt i sin utveckling och forsking gällande centralbanks styrda digitala valutor verkar lovande. Mer forsking kommer att behövas inom området digital valuta, men det kan komma många små förbättringar på dagens valuta som leder till bättre framtida lösningar.

Created in 2009, the digital currency of bitcoin is a relatively new phenomenon. During this short period of time, it has however displayed a strong development of both price and trade volume. This has led to increased media attention, but also regulators and researchers have developed an interest. At this moment, the amount of available research is however limited. With a focus on the price volatility of bitcoin and an aim of finding drivers of this volatility, this study is taking a unique position. The research has its basis in the philosophical position of positivism and objectivism. This has shaped the research question as well as the construction of the study. The result is a describing and explaining research with a deductive research approach, a quantitative research method and an archival research strategy. This has in turn stimulated an extensive literature review and information search. Areas of discussion are microstructure theory, the efficient market hypothesis, behavioural finance and informational structures. Due to the limited amount of previous bitcoin research within the area of price volatility, the study has drawn extensively on research performed on more classical assets such as stocks. Nevertheless, when available, bitcoin research has been used as a foundation/reference and an inspiration. Reviews of academic literature and economic theories, as well as public news helped to identify the variables for the empirical study. These variables are; information demand, trade volume, world market index, trend and six specified events, occurring during the chosen sample period and included in the study as dummy variables. The variables are all analysed and included in a GARCH (1,1) model, modified following a similar research by Vlastakis & Markellos (2012) on stocks. This GARCH (1,1) model is then fitted to the bitcoin volatility registered for the sample period and is able thereby able to generate data of if and how the variables affect the bitcoin volatility. The test result suggests that five of the ten variables are significant on a 5 %-level. More specifically it suggests that information demand is a significant variable with a positive influence on the bitcoin volatility, something that corresponds to the literature on information demand and price volatility. This also relates to the events found significant, as they generated bitcoin related information. The significant events of the Cypriot crisis and the failure of the bitcoin exchange MtGox are thus specific examples of how information affects price volatility. Another significant variable is trade volume, which also displays a positive influence on the volatility. The last significant variable turned out to be a constructed positive trend, suggesting that increasing acceptance of bitcoin decreases its volatility.