##ography have enabled the issuance of private crypto - currency. in particular, bitcoin and its underlying enabling technology, the blockchain protocol, has created the capability to exchange value on a peer - to - peer basis. in the words of thomas carper, a us senator, ‘ virtual currencies, perhaps most notably bitcoin, have captured the imagination of some, struck fear among others, and confused the heck out of the rest of us ’. according to the website coinmarketcap. com2, the total market capitalisation of more than 800 different virtual currencies is about us $ 146 billion, of which bitcoin makes up approximately 47 %, followed by etherium, ripple, and litecoin3. this is still significantly lower than the current value of all money ( approximately us $ 84 trillion ) or physical money ( approximately us $ 31 trillion ). although much lower in value, virtual currencies are emerging as a new form of money and / or a new ‘ store of value ’ that is ‘ held ’ within a network of computers. the underlying technology, such as the distributed ledger technology ( dlt ), although immature and still needing to be fully proven, could serve as a means to possibly reshaping financial services. potential applications include general banking activities, trade finance, insurance, and payments. however, virtual currency is not without controversy. according to a paper issued by the financial action task force on money laundering ( fatf ) in 20144, one of the challenges facing regulators, the private sector, government as well as law enforcement agencies is the lack of a common understanding of virtual currencies, including how virtual currencies operate, the potential risks associated with them, and the vocabulary used to talk about them. https : / / coinmarketcap. com / charts / www. coinbase. com http : / / www. fatf - gafi. org / media / fatf / documents / reports / virtual - currency - key - definitions - and - potential - aml - cftrisks. pdf page 4 of 11 payments the second set of innovations that affects financial services is the transfer of value undertaken through the effecting of payments. due to its nature, the payment environment lends itself to being a ‘ natural testing environment ’ to allow for developmental innovations such as fintech. attention has been drawn to innovations such as samsungpay or applepay, which have created the ability of

monetary policy issues. " however, mervyn king, the former governor of the bank of england, claimed the opposite. he said : " central banks are often accused of being obsessed with inflation. this is untrue. if they are obsessed with anything, it is with fiscal policy. " 2 in fact, discussions about fiscal policy issues are often initiated by central bankers. that should not come as a surprise, since a sound fiscal policy provides a necessary foundation for a successful and independent monetary policy. given your research profile, it is very fitting that you are receiving an award named after the important spanish fiscal policymaker jose echegaray, who, in addition, reformed 2 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches the banco de espana comprehensively in the nineteenth century. jose echegaray was born in 1832 in madrid. he was appointed as finance minister in 1868 and in 1905. he is also well - known for his literary career. however, it would be very unjust for me to emphasise only your professional skills and achievements, pablo. you are not only an excellent economist and central banker, but also a wonderful and versatile person. in your free time, you have a deep interest in and knowledge of history, particularly the history of the renaissance period in europe. you also have an in - depth knowledge of art and literature. this too makes you a perfect match for the echegaray prize, since jose echegaray was not only a finance minister, but also an outstanding dramatist, awarded the nobel prize in literature. to sum up, i think that everyone working at the banco de espana can be proud to be led by you, pablo. 4 conclusion for my part, i feel very fortunate to be able to work with such an outstanding person on the ecb governing council as well. as central bankers, we are currently going through very challenging times. inflation was believed to be dead by many, and for many years. now it is back. we have to fulfil our mandate of safeguarding price stability in europe. that is what everyone is expecting of us – not only economists, politicians and market participants but ordinary people too. pablo and i both share a lot of views on various economic issues – particularly on our task of bringing inflation back to target. i look forward to continuing this exchange of views – on inflation, monetary policy, fiscal policy or on history and the lessons it holds for today's problems. 1 de cos, p.