经济学人下载:各国央行推出数字货币,中国成领跑者(1)

Digital currencies 

数字货币

Token gestures 

代币行动

Bitcoin grabs the headlines, but the real action is at central banks 

比特币常常占据新闻头条，但真正的进展发生在各国央行

Anyone who bought bitcoin a year ago must feel vindicated—and rich. The price of the cryptocurrency crossed $50,000 for the first time on February 16th, a five-fold increase over the past year. Wall Street grandees including BlackRock, Bank of New York Mellon and Morgan Stanley are mulling holding some for clients. Last week Tesla, an electric-car maker, said it had bought $1.5bn-worth of bitcoin and would accept it as payment for its cars. 

一年前买了比特币的人一定觉得自己扬眉吐气而且很富有。这种加密货币的价格在2月16日首次突破5万美元，过去一年里涨了五倍。包括贝莱德、纽约梅隆银行和摩根士丹利在内的华尔街巨头正在考虑为客户持仓。上个月，电动汽车制造商特斯拉表示已购买了价值15亿美元的比特币，并将接受用比特币购买它家的汽车。

Investors' interest in bitcoin as an asset may be rising, but the inefficiencies and transaction costs associated with its use make it unlikely ever to be a viable currency. Here the action has been within central banks. As consumers have shifted away from using physical cash, and private companies—such as Facebook—have expressed an interest in launching their own tokens, many central banks have begun planning to issue their own digital currencies. The Bank for International Settlements, a club of central banks, last month said it expects one-fifth of the world's population will have access to a central-bank digital currency (CBDC) by 2024. 

投资者把比特币当作一种资产的兴趣可能日渐浓厚，但比特币使用时的低效和交易成本问题让它不可能成为一种切实可用的流通货币。央行内一直在开展这方面的行动。随着消费者逐渐不再使用现金，加上Facebook之类的私人公司已经表示有兴趣推出自己的代币，多国央行已经开始计划发行自己的数字货币。央行俱乐部国际清算银行1月表示，预计到2024年，全球五分之一的人口将能用上央行数字货币（CBDC）。

China is the clear frontrunner. On February 17th it concluded the third big test of its digital currency, handing out 10m yuan ($1.5m) to 50,000 shoppers in Beijing. It has announced a joint venture with SWIFT, an interbank-messaging system used for cross-border payments. Sweden, another champion, has extended its pilot project. 

中国显然是领跑者。2月17日，它结束了对其数字货币的第三次大型测试，向北京的5万名购物者发放了1000万元数字人民币。中国已宣布与用于跨境支付的银行间报文系统SWIFT成立合资公司。另一个冲在前头的国家瑞典已延长了其试点项目。

The latest big central bank to get serious about a CBDC is the EUROpean Central Bank (ECB). Its public consultation, seeking views on the desirable features of CBDCs, concluded in January, garnering over 8,000 responses. Speaking to The Economist on February 10th, Christine Lagarde, its president, said she planned to seek approval from her colleagues to begin preparing for a digital EURO. A decision is expected in April. Ms Lagarde hopes the currency will go live by 2025. 

最近开始认真考虑CBDC的大型央行是欧洲央行。它对CBDC重要功能的公开征求意见于1月结束，收到了8000多条回复。2月10日，该行行长克里斯汀拉加德在接受本刊采访时说，她计划在征得同事们的同意下开始筹备数字欧元，预计4月将做出决定。拉加德希望这种货币在2025年之前投入使用。