If the means of payment embodying the unit of account, that is notes and coin, is – over time – eliminated as a transaction medium by virtue of the competition of the emerging digital equivalents issued by the private sector, would the familiar existing units of account, the euro, the US dollar, the pound sterling, etc., continue to mean anything?
And, if not, what should be the official response? I don’t propose to address either of these issues today, but you may rest assured that they are crucial to our concerns regarding the future, albeit probably somewhat distant future.