This presentation outlines the technology of cryptocurrencies, avoiding misleading analogy with notes and coin. It then proposes using this technology to move both bank money and money-financed bank loans off balance sheet onto a single shared cryptocurrency ledger, together with government issued fiat money. This stops bank failures disrupting money and payments and hence helps achieve monetary outcomes desired by the Austrian school of economics: reducing excessive state interference in the market for credit (through bank regulation, lender of last resort and bail-out) and discouraging unsustainable money and credit expansions (leading to financial crisis and depression).

Alistair Milne joined the School of Business and Economics, Loughborough University, in July 2011 as professor of financial economics. He was previously reader in banking and finance at Cass Business School, City University of London and has also held positions at the Bank of England, the University of Surrey, London Business School, HM Treasury and the national statistics office of Malawi.

This seminar is organised by the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Crawford School of Public Policy and the Research School of Finance, Actuarial Studies & Statistics.