##mediaries but to the detriment of the public ; and for not responding quickly enough when the crisis began to emerge. although there are many lessons to learn, not all of these criticisms are fair. the rapid, unconventional and coordinated response by central banks at the peak of the crisis undoubtedly averted a collapse of the system, and the vigorous measures to maintain the functioning of financial systems have been largely effective – so far. nevertheless, the crisis itself, and the very scale of the response, have brought central banks more into the foreground than ever before. as the full implications of what has happened unfold there will undoubtedly be questions about their role and the policies they pursue. the appropriate response to this is for central banks, international organisations, and government authorities to seize the initiative for reform so that financial crisis does not become a crisis of confidence in the system itself. since, as recent events have resoundingly demonstrated, the financial system is a global system, the reforms must be organised along international lines. the limited achievements in international co - operation following the asian financial crisis might make us sceptical. but, in fact, the signs are positive. co - ordination among central banks in crisis management has been effective. technical blueprints for regulatory reform on an international scale have already been drawn up. and the political will has been demonstrated in the commitment by the world ’ s largest economies to implement far - reaching reform. one area of progress is the movement towards greater participation by developing economies in international forums and in the process of reform. this is important, not just because of the growing influence of these economies – nor even because the leading international forums are currently dominated by the very economies that are now in the deepest trouble – but because the ordinary people of developing economies are usually the ones who suffer most in a global financial crisis. international co - operation will also, i hope, act as a countervailing influence against any repeat of the disastrous mistakes that were made in the 1930s. there has so far been a resistance to trade protectionism, although the idea has begun to gain some ground as a spurious answer to economic distress. there is a risk that the idea will spread to the financial sector, particularly if there is political pressure to include protectionist measures in rescue packages for troubled banking systems in the developed economies. i need hardly point out that – no less than trade protectionism – such a trend would deepen the hardship of the developing economies, many of which rely heavily on international finance

see how technological innovation can improve the functionality of money. we invited the industry last year to explore potential applications for an e - hkd, a new form of digital money. the first phase of the e - hkd pilot programme had attracted enthusiastic responses, and we will continue to experiment with the industry on different innovative use cases in the next phase that we have launched last month. we observed that tokenisation, alongside programmability, had the potential to transform how money could better serve our financial needs, and that it could create new opportunities for consumers and businesses to transact in new spaces and new ways. these can potentially unlock new avenues for wider inter - industry settlements, facilitate financial inclusion, enable seamless cross - border transactions, and enhance the efficiency of capital markets. the topics of tokenisation and programmability have since reverberated throughout the industry, with pilot participants proactively sharing their insights, designs and frameworks on how a digital money ecosystem could look like in future, which could encompass retail and wholesale cbdcs in co - existence with other forms of money issued by private firms. and by " digital money ", i intend to also cover different types of tokenised money, capable of supporting the settlement of tokenised assets and transactions. publicly and privately - issued money with this future monetary system, a key question to consider is what role central banks should play in providing " digital money " to the public, like individuals and corporates. in fact, some research studies show that over 90 % of money used in modern economies is private money, issued digitally by private entities like commercial banks. digital money should be designed with public interest in mind. any digital money should enable fast, convenient, seamless, and around - the - clock transactions between consumers and businesses. over the last decade, we have observed digital money move beyond isolated systems and pure accounting ledgers in banking. what was once confined to basic units of transfer has evolved into something far more sophisticated and powerful, enabling end - to - end integration with different industries. we envision this close - knit relationship between the public and private money to continue. it goes without saying that the interplay between public and private money is crucial in this regard, especially if we are to realise the full benefits of tokenisation, as well as the full potential of cbdcs and other forms of digital money. just as cash and deposits exist harmoniously today, the tokenisation of our financial system will likely involve a complementary relationship