She described a surge of interest in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin among central banks, attracted by the promise of traceability. Like gold, money “has a slightly magical feel to it,” said David Orrell, the Toronto-based author of The Evolution of Money and The Money Formula: Dodgy Finance, Pseudo Science, and How Mathematicians Took Over the Markets. “Probably there’s quite a few people in central banks and whatnot who would love to get rid of cash,” Orrell said. Only 15 per cent were aware that new money is created when banks make loans, and existing money is destroyed when members of the public repay them. There is no fixed amount of money in circulation, set by a central bank, as many people seem to imagine.

Source: National Post January 26, 2018 22:58 UTC