yves mersch : virtual or virtueless? the evolution of money in the digital age lecture by mr yves mersch, member of the executive board of the european central bank, at the official monetary and financial institutions forum, london, 8 february 2018. * * * european folklore warns of the will - o ’ - the - wisp, a malignant creature that dwelt in marshes. it would appear as a light in the distance, which a traveller would mistake for houses. as they reached the place where they thought the light was, it would move further ahead, drawing them deeper into the marsh to their untimely death and a watery grave. in some areas, will - o ’ - thewisps were said to mark buried treasure. investigation of the phenomenon found it was related to dissipating bubbles of marsh gas. 1 with the draining of marshes to make way for agricultural land, will - o ’ - the - wisps are rarely sighted nowadays. but there remain plenty of distant flashing lights to distract travellers with promises of riches. as with the previous incarnation, these flashing lights often turn out to be just like bubbles of marsh gas – insubstantial and foul - smelling, but also flammable and sometimes able to burn things around them. the most recent beguiling wisps are named variously “ cryptocurrencies ” – to denote the use of cryptographic methods and technology – or “ virtual currencies ” ( vcs ) – to denote their lack of legal recognition. there are, at present, more than 1, 500 vcs in circulation, with dozens of new schemes being launched monthly, including initial coin offerings ( icos ). most have failed to attract users, in particular in the major currency areas. the total value outstanding has fluctuated sharply, largely from speculative activity. the global value of all vcs is currently around a fifth of the value of all euro banknotes in circulation and around 3 % of the narrow monetary aggregate m1. of course, these figures are probably already out of date, such is the volatility of the market. having a million dollars ’ worth of bitcoin today would have required the simple investment of three million dollars in middecember. because holders can hide their identity and location, it is impossible to accurately analyse vc circulation in the euro area. but euro - related activity on exchanges represents a small share of global activity, and is concentrated on a small number of

we are now at your disposal for questions. amando m tetangco, jr : the central bank of the philippines in 2008 – one dynamic team new year ’ s message by mr amando m tetangco, jr, governor of the central bank of the philippines ( bangko sentral ng pilipinas ), to bspers, at the bsp flag raising ceremony, bsp complex, malate, manila, 7 january 2008. * * * magandang umaga at maligayang bagong taon sa inyong lahat! fellow central bankers. i am very pleased that i am the first speaker this year for our traditional weekly flag - raising ceremony. alam po ninyo, gusto ko pong magpasalamat muli sa inyong lahat dahil talagang maganda ang naging resulta ng 2007 para sa atin sa bangko sentral ng pilipinas. we were able to keep inflation at low and stable rates, our banking system is stronger, we have record high international reserves, record high balance of payments surplus, and our peso is the best performing currency in asia. for this, let us give ourselves a well - deserved round of applause! if you recall, the monetary board improved our salary scheme and incentives program in 2007 in recognition of our good performance. kaya ba nating ulitin ito?!!! kaya!!! i agree with you ; especially if we resolve individually and collectively to find even better ways of doing things in our respective sectors. while we have been performing well in terms of our mandate, you and i know there is always room for improving our performance. it can be as simple as using recycled paper for our draft reports, completing our assignments well ahead of time, conserving water and electricity, finding more cost - effective ways of doing our work, setting higher standards for the quality of work we do, and contributing to the overall effort to transform the bangko sentral ng pilipinas into a world - class monetary authority. fellow bspers. the months and years ahead hold a lot of challenges that demand new and better ways of doing things. our operating environment continues to evolve and change. therefore, it is not feasible to remain static and continue to depend on old systems and procedures. thus, while we have become good inflation targeters, we still continue to seek third party expert evaluation of the tools we use to craft and implement responsive monetary policies.