Monopoly of Currency Power and Wealth Concentration under the Monetization of Wealth: With a Discussion on the Impact of the Central Bank Digital Currency System
LO Dic;ZHANG Quan;
Abstract：
The contemporary monetization of wealth intensifies the alienation in which “money obscures real labor relations”. The credit-based U.S. dollar system siphons global wealth internationally and exacerbates class polarization domestically through the U.S. “dollar-Treasury bond” circulation. Meanwhile, the decentralization narrative of cryptocurrencies fails to break free from the discipline of capitalist production relations and instead degenerates into a new form of monopoly. Based on historical materialism, our study proceeds along the thread of “laws of historical evolution-analysis of contemporary contradictions-future technological innovation”. Firstly, we sort out the evolutionary logic of wealth from products and commodities to money and capital, and reveal how the credit system has become a remedial mechanism for capitalist wealth accumulation. Secondly, we deconstruct the “center-periphery” order of the U.S. dollar system and its crises across institutional, technological, and geopolitical dimensions, while analyzing the class nature of concentrated currency power and the paradox of cryptocurrencies. Finally, we explore the potential of Central Bank Digital Currencies(CBDCs) to restructure currency power, examine the bottlenecks in global CBDC practices, and assess the impact of the U.S. policy shift. We argue that CBDCs provide a viable path to break the private monopoly of currency power. Accordingly, we propose a socialist CBDC governance path: leveraging public ownership to lead infrastructure development, using technology to empower common prosperity, and promoting multilateral cooperation to break the U.S. dollar pricing monopoly. This path aims to provide a solution for global digital currency governance in the blockchain era that combines socialist attributes with practical value.
Key Words： wealth distribution;currency power;monetary theory;Central Bank Digital Currency(CBDC)
Foundation: 国家社会科学基金重大项目“全球制度比较视野中的中国特色社会主义制度的政治经济学研究”(24&ZD014)资助
Authors: LO Dic;ZHANG Quan;
References：
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- (1)在2008年首次实施量化宽松政策之前,美联储发行美元时购买的债券主要是美债;2008年至2014年的三轮量化宽松政策期间,除购买美债外,美联储还购买了大量的联邦机构债券和住宅抵押贷款支持证券(MBS);2020年至2022年的量化宽松政策期间,美联储将资产购买范围进一步扩充至公司债。由此可见,美联储为市场提供流动性的方式早已不再受限于银行体系。 (2)内容出自《1913年2月28日普若委员会的最终报告》,转引自格里芬([2010]2017,pp.7-8)。 (3)详见俄央行官网消息https://cbr.ru/eng/press/event/?id=25774#highlight=2027%7Cdigi tal%7Cruble。 (4)详见巴西媒体采访报道https://valorinternational.globo.com/markets/news/2025/08/08/cen tral-bank-drops-blockchain-for-next-phase-of-drex.ghtml。