How central bankers are reshaping the definition of money

Struggling to abandon the traditional definition, the authors acknowledge that technological advances – largely driven by the emergence of blockchain – allow the characteristics of money to diverge somewhat. Technology has been influenced by what money can do, in ways that we are all still coming to terms with it. It has always been capable of triggering programmatic functions (such as vending machines and arcade games), only now they are more sophisticated. It’s always had the potential to be a collectible (signed bills, historical notes), only now with a lot more flexibility. Now, money can be the underlying in both clearing and settlement. Now, money can be programmed.