Attention Economy


Tuesday, August 22, 2023

Cryptos - Financial Stability Risks and Energy Consumption

Financial stability risks from cryptoassets in emerging market economies
https://www.bis.org/publ/bppdf/bispap138.pdf
In emerging market economies (EMEs), cryptoasset adoption has been on a steady rise. For some users, cryptoassets provide an alternative to limited investment and savings instruments. For others they offer a seemingly safe haven against volatile domestic currencies. For EME financial authorities, there are serious concerns about their ability to monitor cryptoasset markets and to assess the financial stability risks from cryptoassets. This report studies how vulnerabilities in the nature, structure, composition and function of cryptoasset markets translate into financial stability risks in traditional financial markets. This includes market, liquidity, credit and operational risks, bank disintermediation and capital flow risks. It then outlines the transmission channels through which these risks can affect financial stability. Risk catalysts in EMEs can strengthen these transmission channels, increasing a country's vulnerability to financial stability risks.  

When cryptomining comes to town: High electricity use spillovers to the local economy
https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/when-cryptomining-comes-town-high-electricity-use-spillovers-local-economy
In recent years, data centres have consumed 0.9% of global electricity, and bitcoin mining alone 0.5%. This column looks at the real effects of technology processing on local economies. The authors find that households and small businesses paid an extra $204 million and $92 million annually, respectively, in Upstate New York due to increased electricity consumption by cryptominers. In China, where electricity prices are fixed, rationing of electricity in cities with cryptomining deteriorates wages and investments.