An Economist Best Book of the Year

A Financial Times Best Book of the Year

A Foreign Affairs Best Book of the Year

A ProMarket Best Political Economy Book of the Year

One of The Week’s Ten Best Business Books of the Year

A cutting-edge look at how accelerating financial change, from the end of cash to the rise of cryptocurrencies, will transform economies for better and worse.

We think we’ve seen financial innovation. We bank from laptops and buy coffee with the wave of a phone. But these are minor miracles compared with the dizzying experiments now underway around the globe, as businesses and governments alike embrace the possibilities of new financial technologies. As Eswar Prasad explains, the world of finance is at the threshold of major disruption that will affect corporations, bankers, states, and indeed all of us. The transformation of money will fundamentally rewrite how ordinary people live.

Above all, Prasad foresees the end of physical cash. The driving force won’t be phones or credit cards but rather central banks, spurred by the emergence of cryptocurrencies to develop their own, more stable digital currencies. Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies themselves will evolve unpredictably as global corporations like Meta and Amazon join the game. The changes will be accompanied by snowballing innovations that are reshaping finance and have already begun to revolutionize how we invest, trade, insure, and manage risk.

Prasad shows how these and other changes will redefine the very concept of money, unbundling its traditional functions as a unit of account, medium of exchange, and store of value. The promise lies in greater efficiency and flexibility, increased sensitivity to the needs of diverse consumers, and improved market access for the unbanked. The risk is instability, lack of accountability, and erosion of privacy. A lucid, visionary work, The Future of Money shows how to maximize the best and guard against the worst of what is to come.

"A strength of [Prasad’s] analysis is his mastery of both technical details and big-picture trade-offs…As it loses physical form, money’s meaning will become ever harder to grasp. This book explores the economic and social effects of that upheaval, giving shape to this most abstract of concepts." - The Economist

"An in-depth look at how our wallets are set to evolve." - Bloomberg

"Prasad aims to pull together some of the threads about bitcoin and such like to set out a big picture on money…Prasad’s helpful discussion of the pressures on, and options available to, central banks was illuminating. I found his framing of the ways in which these new technologies simultaneously make regulation both easier and more difficult interesting." - Financial World

"Digital technologies are also transforming the world of finance. Prasad provides an invaluable overview of what this might mean: physical money will disappear; central bank money will compete with the new private versions; financial intermediation will be transformed; and new opportunities will open to the world’s population." - Financial Times

"Demystifies the esoteric world of cryptocurrencies…Prasad’s analysis is the best single point of entry for those interested in the nitty-gritty of digital finance." - Foreign Affairs

"A road map for money managers, market strategists, and others seeking to understand this new world." - Barron’s

"As money has become free to move around the world, Prasad probes how digital innovation is reshaping it as both a tool and a concept." - Nature

"An ambitious book, covering the diverse landscape of digital money, and one that will remain relevant for years to come." - CoinDesk

"Prasad’s book is the best on the topic so far. In particular, it provides the most complete description of issues and factors that will shape the future of money. Everyone with limited time wanting to have a deeper understanding of money in the 21st century, should read this book." - Central Banking

"Comprehensive…and a vital handbook for anyone looking to understand how finance is changing." - Financial Times

"A sober-minded and informative take on an overheated topic." - Publishers Weekly

"A sweeping survey of fintech, crypto assets, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)." - Quartz

"Very interesting and very worthwhile…I’ll be referencing The Future of Money for a long time." - Forbes

"For anyone who really wants to understand how [Bitcoin] works in all its technical splendor, there is no better introduction." - Project Syndicate

"An impressive overview of the many changes digital technologies have already wrought…A sweeping overview of developments in payments, from the specifics of Ant Group’s business to the e-krona project and Venezuela’s Petro…An engaging read." - Finance and Development

"An eminently readable work that is accessible and smooth. From banks to cryptocurrencies to fintech, he gives a detailed crash course on the present and lays out breadcrumbs to an uncertain future. As Prasad says, only one thing is for sure, cash is on its way out. What the future holds remains to be seen." - The Week (India)

"The book makes a significant contribution. It addresses many wider issues associated with digital currencies and digital finance. These issues include the potential effects on financial stability, the monetary transmission system, domestic and international payment systems, financial inclusion and inequality. It is impressive that so many topics are covered in an accessible manner…[An] excellent book." - Society of Professional Economists

"Covers everything about digital money, finance, and fintech that anyone would need or want to know." - South China Morning Post

"A wonderful introduction to, and reference for, the fast-changing world of electronic assets…Fun to read, provides lots of fascinating material for money and banking classes…The book is solid, but the future of privately provided e-money is not." - Journal of Economic Literature

"An interesting and insightful exposition on the shifting landscape from traditional paper notes to digital currencies…The Future of Money provides readers with a window into some of the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for the financial sector." - Enterprising Investor

"While written from the perspective of a central bank economist, the book is highly readable and accessible to those without formal training in monetary economics and policy. As it describes projects likely to become reality over the next five to ten years, The Future of Money is relevant for social science scholars interested in technology, digitalization, markets, and organizations." - Administrative Science Quarterly

"This book offers valuable insights to understand the impact of digital currencies on monetary policy, commercial banks and financial stability." - Journal of Evolutionary Economics