Josh Lipsky on Financial Statecraft, Cross-border Payments, and the Global Status of the Dollar

Josh Lipsky is the senior director of the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center. Josh joins David on Macro Musings to talk about the tools of financial statecraft, how they have evolved over the years, and their implications for digital currencies moving forward. Specifically, David and Josh also discuss how financial statecraft would be applied to a possible conflict with China, the current state of the cross-border payments system, the future of wholesale CBDC in the US, and much more.

Transcript for this week’s episode.

Josh’s Twitter: @joshualipsky

Josh’s Atlantic Council profile

David Beckworth’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth

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Related Links:

*Sanctioning China in a Taiwan Crisis: Scenarios and Risks* by Charlie Vest, Agatha Kratz, Juliana Bouchaud, Josh Lipsky, Kimberly Donovan, Charles Lichfield, and Niels Graham.

*The Geopolitical Imperative to Upgrade the Dollar* by Jordan Bleicher and Josh Lipsky

*Stablecoins and National Security: Learning the Lessons of Eurodollars* by Timothy Massad

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:04:02) – The Russia Sanctions as an Example of Financial Statecraft

(00:10:14) – The Financing of the Russia-Ukraine War

(00:14:08) – The Delicacy of Legal Precedents and the REPO Act

(00:19:10) – Breaking Down the Tools of Financial Statecraft

(00:22:08) – Applying Financial Statecraft to a Possible China Conflict

(00:28:52) – Cross-border Payments and the Global Status of the US Dollar

(00:34:05) – Breaking Down the Development and Geopolitical Importance of mBridge

(00:38:34) – The Future and Importance of Wholesale CBDC in the US

(00:43:28) – Private Sector Alternatives to CBDCs

(00:45:05) – Where is the CBDC Conversation Headed?

(00:49:25) – Closing Thoughts: The 80th Anniversary of Bretton Woods and the Future of Dollar Dominance

(00:52:48) – Outro