区块链与金融基础设施——兼论Libra项目的风险与监管

Blockchain and Financial Infrastructure:the Risk and Regulation of Libra

本文研究了区块链对金融基础设施的影响,并从这个角度分析了Libra项目的潜在风险和监管应对。金融基础设施分为账户范式和Token范式,前者以银行账户体系为代表,后者以区块链为代表。这两个范式有很大差异,但都可以用来承载金融资产和交易,在很多应用场景中呈现了复杂的替代关系和互补关系。Libra项目、金融机构间结算币和中央银行数字货币都是Token范式的代表。Libra项目基于Token范式实现了某种意义上的超主权货币,但不一定有货币创造,远不是货币非国家化。同时,Libra项目面临着法定储备投资管理不善、货币篮子结构失衡、Libra价格大幅波动等潜在风险,且由于涉及多个国家、多种货币而面临复杂的合规要求。

This paper studies how blockchain impacts financial infrastructure and analyzes the Libra project recently announced by Facebook.We suggest there are two paradigms of financial infrastructure.The first is the account paradigm,which is represented by the bank account system.The second is the token paradigm,which is represented by blockchain.Those two paradigms are quite different from each other,but they both can record financial assets and transactions.In many application cases,they complement and substitute for each other.The Libra project,settlement coins between financial institutions,and central bank digital currencies are all examples of the token paradigm.Via the token paradigm,the Libra project introduces a certain kind of supersovereign currency.However,we are uncertain whether there will be money creation in the Libra project.The Libra is not the denationalization of money.Finally,we study the potential risks posed by the Libra project such as mismanagement of its fiat reserve,imbalance in its currency basket,and fluctuation of Libra price,and propose several regulatory measures.The Libra project will also face complex compliance requirements because of its multi-country and multi-currency features.