Currency
Serbian central bank reprimands artist for ‘defacing’ banknotes
Andrej Josifovski printed anti-government symbols on dinars ahead of student protests
BoJ’s Himino: Stablecoins strengthen dollar privilege
Deputy governor calls for ‘holistic’ system involving stablecoins, CBDCs, tokenisation and cash
Access to cash must be protected – Bundesbank’s Balz
Board member says digital euro is ‘no silver bullet’ in payments landscape
Bulgarian lessons from entering the eurozone
Sofia’s uneasy membership in the currency bloc, five months in
Book notes: Everybody loves our dollars, by Oliver Bullough
The author poses serious questions about whether central banks’ activities are helping kleptocrats
Cash needed for resilience, say eurozone central banks
Institutions from Austria, Germany and Spain outline why hard currency remains key
Cash remains king during extreme weather events – study
Payment system resilience relies on fallback options during digital outages, authors argue
Libya launches $1bn cash sale to citizens
Central bank attempts to reduce demand for US currency in parallel economy and stabilise dinar
Barry Eichengreen on the evolution of the global monetary order
The US monetary expert speaks to Thomas Chow about similarities between the dollar and 18th century Dutch money and why Washington has bet on the ‘wrong horse’ with private stablecoins
MAS supports PFMI monitoring for systemic stablecoins
Assistant managing director says potential for ‘crisis of confidence’ is embedded within instruments
HKMA awards Hong Kong’s first stablecoin licences
HSBC and Standard Chartered-backed JV to mint HKD-denominated assets from mid-2026
The role of high-denomination banknotes
High-value notes are an important store of value and remain in demand during crises
Crypto assets behave more like investments than money – study
Most owners are not using securities for payments and turn to cash in times of uncertainty
Central banks face ‘double whammy’ from Iran war
Policy-makers will have to tackle impact of higher inflation and greater fiscal stimulus
Geopolitics and debt are headwinds for dollar – Hammack
Cleveland Fed president says greenback’s long-term pre-eminence cannot be ‘taken for granted’
Banknotes: January to March 2026
A round-up of news and salient issues that have affected central bankers in the past three months
Stablecoin demand transmits to FX markets – BIS paper
Inflows into digital assets make acquiring dollars via swap markets more expensive, authors find
Inflation shock upends Aussie dollar rates flatteners
Hedge funds’ front-end curve trades stopped out as Iran conflict drove RBA terminal rate pricing higher
RBNZ responds to lenders’ concerns over cash proposal
Bank acknowledges industry view that prior consultation was lacking
BoE takes a walk on the wild side with banknote designs
Public votes to replace historical figures with wildlife, but plans incur backlash from some quarters
Fed independence key to dollar strength – FOMC member
Cleveland Fed chief says geopolitics and high US debt among factors that could ‘unseat’ greenback