Purpose: The paper explores the precarious balance between modernizing monetary systems by means of digital currencies (either issued by the central bank itself or independently) and safeguarding financial stability as also ensured by tangible payment (and saving) instruments like paper money.Design/methodology/approach: Which aspects of modern payment systems could contribute to improve the way of functioning of today's globalized economy? And, which might even threaten the above-mentioned instable equilibrium? This survey paper aims, precisely, at giving some preliminary answers to a complex – therefore, ongoing – debate at scientific as well as banking and political levels.Findings: The coexistence of State's money (i.e. “legal tender”) and cryptocurrencies can have a disciplining effect on central banks. Nevertheless, there are still high risks connected to the introduction of central bank digital currency, which should be by far not considered to be a perfect substitute of current cash. At the same time, cryptocurrencies issued by central banks might be exposed to the drawbacks of cryptocurrencies without benefiting from correspondingly strong advantages. A well-governed two-tier system to be achieved through innovation in payment infrastructures might be, in turn, more preferable. Regulated competition by new players combined with “traditional” deposits and central bank elements remains essential, although central banks should embrace the technologies underlying cryptocurrencies, because risk payment service providers could move to other currency areas considered to be more appealing for buyers and sellers.Research limitations/implications: We do not see specific limitations besides the fact that the following is for sure a broad field of scientific research to be covered, which is at the same time at the origin of ongoing developments and findings. Originality and implications of the paper are, instead, not only represented by its conclusions (which highlight the role of traditional payment instruments and stress why the concept of “money” still has to have specific features) but also by its approach of recent literature's review combined with equally strong logical-analytical insights.Practical implications: In the light of these considerations, even the role of traditional payment systems like paper money is by far not outdated or cannot be – at this point, at least – replaced by central bank digital currencies (whose features based on dematerialization despite being issued and guaranteed by a public authority are very different).Social implications: No matter which form it might assume is what differentiates economic from barter transactions. This conclusion is by far not tautological or self-evident since the notion of money has historically been a great object of scientific discussion. In the light of increasingly modern payment instruments, there is no question that money and the effectiveness of related monetary policies have to be also explored from a social perspective according to different monetary scenarios, ranging from central bank digital currencies to private currencies and cash restrictions/abolition.Originality/value: The originality/value of the following article is represented by the fact that it (1) refers to some of the most relevant and recent contributions to this research field, (2) moves from payment systems in general to their newest trends like cryptocurrencies, cash restrictions (or, even, abolition proposals) and monetary policy while (3) combining all elements to reach a common picture. The paper aims at being a comprehensive contribution dealing with "money" in its broadest but also newest sense.

Global supply chains, especially in commodity trading, are plagued by fragmentation, lack of transparency, and trust deficits among participants. These issues lead to inefficiencies, increased costs, and an over-reliance on intermediaries. The present Communication describes a blockchain-based platform that leverages Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) and Verifiable Credentials (VCs) to address these challenges in supply chain management. Developed in collaboration with coffee industry stakeholders, our approach proposes a platform with an integrated marketplace for seller discovery, enables precise order definition with detailed terms and conditions, and actively guides both buyers and sellers throughout the shipping process, managing financial guarantees and ensuring a secure transaction flow. The platform is compatible with both traditional banking infrastructure and modern crypto-based systems, enabling seamless financial transactions. In cases where disputes arise, we empower users to easily collect all communications and documents to present to legal authorities, expediting the resolution process. The platform is implemented using the Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) for secure, on-chain storage and application hosting, and is integrated with the Ethereum blockchain to leverage its extensive decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, significant liquidity, and robust stablecoin infrastructure, thereby facilitating secure financial transactions. Moreover, we introduce an SSI-based authentication and authorization framework that spans across the entire platform, including both the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and Internet Computer Protocol (ICP), enabling unified role-based access control through verifiable credentials. A value-added of the present Communication, the framework is demonstrated by means of a detailed case study in the coffee industry, highlighting the technical challenges addressed during implementation. While quantitative efficiency metrics will be established through upcoming real-world testing with industry partners, the platform’s design aims to streamline operations by reducing intermediary dependencies and automating key processes. Finally, the Communication provides insights into its adaptability to other industries facing comparable supply chain challenges, presenting an approach focused on enhancing trust and reducing reliance on intermediaries.

Gold has a far-reaching history of ‘safe haven’ or ‘anchor of stability’. However, the epitome of precious metals has recently deviated from its historical price trend. Fluctuations and volatility have increased too. We argue that gold is not subject to bubbles (due to its scarcity in nature), although its price is. By means of a logical-analytical macroeconomic approach combined with statistical and empirical evidence, we prove that there is excess liquidity in the world economy as a whole, which has been increasingly invested in this precious metal. The paper also shows why the gold price could further rise and/or suddenly decrease. Both scenarios would be possible as soon as speculation kicks in.

Zusammenfassung: Obwohl man im Zuge der COVID-19-Pandemie aufgrund des dramatischen Einbruchs aller Wirtschaftsprognosen weltweit bislang von rezessiv-deflationären Auswirkungen ausgegangen ist, lassen sich Inflationsrisiken keineswegs ausschließen. Welche Folgeeffekte kann die Kombination aus milliardenhohen Liquiditätsspritzen bei starkem Produktionsrückgang sowie streng einzuhaltenden (und ebenso kostenträchtigen) Sicherheits- und Schutzauflagen entfalten? Und wieso sollte aus makroökonomischer Sicht zwischen „Inflation“ und „steigenden Lebenshaltungskosten“ unterschieden werden? Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird mithilfe eines logisch-analytischen Denkansatzes auch argumentiert, wie sich derartige Inflationsszenarien wirtschaftspolitisch abwenden ließen. Denn eins ist genauso sicher: die Relation zwischen Naturkatastrophen und Inflation besteht seit je. Umso mehr, falls Inflationserscheinungen – wie heutzutage – nur zum Teil erkannt werden.

Sharing economy brought changes both at the macroeconomic and the individual level. New models of consumption, such as the liquid one, are becoming very frequent, shaping countries’ productive systems and consumers’ habits. This paper—combining both theoretical approaches—aims at measuring the individual characteristics that induce consumers to prefer liquid versus solid consumption. First, the article contextualizes the topic from a broader, macroeconomic perspective, and later on, it narrows its angle of view making it rather microeconomic and behavioral. In this specific regard, by means of a cluster analysis, four profiles of consumers are identified: (1) Rational and liquid; (2) Hybrid and question mark; (3) Solid in transition; (4) Hyper solid. Characteristics as well as theoretical and managerial implications are outlined for each cluster. This research focusing on emerging consumer behavior contributes to the current debate on solid and liquid consumption (i) exploring the continuum between these two extremes, (ii) defining a first behavioral profile of customer that are traveling between solid and liquid state and (iii) designing a possible way to target such a blurred and fast evolving customer that mostly qualifies a global and rapidly evolving economic environment.

Since the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic, China has experienced lower GDP growth. The present article follows the stream in economic literature according to which China has entered a structural slowdown permanently reducing its growth rates with subsequent effects on the Asian region. By means of a dynamic panel model, the article assesses the impact of a slowdown in the Chinese economy on the GDP growth rates of emerging Asia countries. Given the relative importance of exports to Asia for Italy, we quantify the export loss for it by estimating the elasticity of Italian exports to Asian GDP growth through a standard gravity model for bilateral trade. The results show that, on average, the impact of a 1% point (pp) reduction in China’s real GDP growth on that of the selected Asian countries is equal to -0.35 pp. This effect increases by 0.01 pp for every 1 pp increase in the share of goods exported to China. Additionally, we find that the potential export loss for Italy in the selected economies would have amounted to almost USD 930 mln. if China’s growth had been 0.1 pp lower than actually recorded, with major losses concentrated in China itself (USD 639 mln.) and South Korea (USD 111 mln.).