doesn ’ t fulfill these functions. it ’ s difficult to pay with it in a store, its value is undermined by its volatility, and it has no use as a unit of account. as it doesn ’ t meet these three criteria, we prefer to use the term crypto - asset or simply, crypto. cryptos could represent opportunities as well. for instance in the financing of small and mediumsized companies. a lot of people invest in cryptos, and they have been designed to improve crossborder payments. you ’ ll notice that now i ’ m talking about cryptos, i will shift the focus from the opportunities, to the risks. cryptos are a development that demands the vigilance of regulators and supervisors. so far, they have not developed into the deeply rooted and widespread payment systems some might have hoped for. to date, cryptos have a modest financial footprint compared to the rest of the financial system. the lack of widespread use is partly caused by an issue that keeps haunting cryptos. some consider this issue to be inherent to their design. and that is their potential use for money laundering and other illicit activities. a system built around circumventing central oversight is bound to attract certain types of people. the anonymity that cryptos guarantee is both a help and a hindrance to their development. another reason why current cryptos are generally an unsuitable replacement for our trusted currency and payment systems, is their volatility. it makes them unattractive as a unit of account or store of value. as there is no supervisor, you hold cryptos at your own risk, and your investment is not guaranteed like it is at a bank. failures or hacks of crypto wallets have already led to significant losses for consumers. also, many initial coin offerings fail as they cannot generate an asset that keeps its value, even for a couple of days, leaving investors behind with a useless and worthless token. last but certainly not least, cryptos and the underlying technology are still far less efficient than our current payment systems, as i explained earlier. so the use of cryptos is still limited. but if impediments can be overcome, we might see their more widespread use. let ’ s look at this scenario from a central banking perspective, as we at the dutch central bank are ultimately responsible for the good functioning of the financial system. such a development could have implications for financial stability. the financial stability board will soon publish

, we are working in international fora to see that the rules take the specific characteristics of italian banks into due account ; on the other, we have worked closely with our banks to ensure that they fully bis central bankers ’ speeches conform with the evolving rules, especially the definition of capital components, and accordingly are able to stand up well under international examination. the results of this action up to now have been encouraging. it is in the interest of all to preserve them. * * * the governor ’ s annual concluding remarks have always represented an occasion for voicing assessments. this time they also provide the chance to look back over these five years. my constant theme has been the problem of our country ’ s economic growth. it is not a new problem, but i do claim for the bank of italy the credit for having made it the top economic policy priority. what kind of country will we leave to our children? many times we have pointed to objectives, suggested lines of action, indicated areas for intervention. five years on, seeing how little of all this has been translated into reality, the “ useless sermons ” of a far more illustrious predecessor of mine come to mind. why doesn ’ t the political system – which alone has the power to translate analysis into law – take to heart cavour ’ s dictum that “ reforms, when enacted in time, do not weaken authority but reinforce it ”? thanks to hard work, ingenuity and sacrifice, in the 150 years of its history as a nation italy has made enormous progress in the material conditions of life. we have experienced periods of booming growth. during the first fifteen years of the twentieth century per capita gross domestic product increased by 30 per cent. in the fifteen years following the second world war, it rose by 140 per cent. in each of these historical periods italy demonstrated a fundamental unity of purpose : in its capacity to withstand the trials of the first world war and in the civic and moral mobilization that, notwithstanding the heterogeneous political forces involved, resulted in our republican constitution. in other periods in our history, progress and growth were hampered by divisions, factional strife, a weakening of trust between the citizens and the state. many disparities, above all that between north and south, have been overcome only in part. diversity has been one of italy ’ s historical characteristics, more than in other countries. not infrequently, instead of being a source of enrichment the differences have been transmuted into mutual veto