Author
Ms WU
Organisation/Institution
Zhejiang University Guanghua Law School
Country
CHINA
Panel
Banking and Finance
Title
Monetary Sovereignty in the Digital Age
Abstract
The accelerating digitalization of the global economy is fracturing the international monetary order. Monetary forms are evolving rapidly along two parallel trajectories: the digitization of sovereign currency, most visibly through Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), and the digital monetization of non-sovereign currencies, including private digital currencies and stablecoins.These intrinsically transboundary circulation forms challenge existing governance, resulting in regulatory fragmentation, arbitrage, and a lack of convergence on cross-border standards. This failure stems from a fundamental structural misalignment between rapid technological evolution and the theoretical foundations of international monetary law, especially the traditional concept of monetary sovereignty. This study examines this tension by placing the concept of monetary sovereignty at its analytical core. Conventionally understood as the state’s supreme authority to issue and regulate currency within its bounded domain, monetary sovereignty has long been a foundational organizing principle. However, the rise of private stablecoins and decentralized monetary arrangements is beginning to erode this paradigm by challenging the state's monopoly, impacting sovereign money's credibility, and blurring the spatial boundaries of monetary authority. Conversely, the rapid advancement of sovereign digitalization, exemplified by CBDC projects, simultaneously suggests that digital technology can reinforce this authority, enabling new modalities of monetary control and cross-border engagement. Against this backdrop, the research aims to reconstruct monetary sovereignty in a manner responsive to the normative, institutional, and technological conditions of the digital economy. It develops an analytical framework to explain this dual process of erosion and reinforcement, identifying the shifting boundaries, contemporary functions, and evolving dynamics of monetary sovereignty as an international legal concept. Methodologically, the study engages with the New Haven School of jurisprudence, emphasizing policy-oriented analysis and the need for legal theory to adapt dynamically to changing social interactions. The study further explores the implications of this re-conceptualization for international monetary governance, considering how sovereignty-informed principles can guide the formation of global regulatory standards and strengthen cross-border coordination. The analysis also specifically addresses China’s pivotal role in safeguarding monetary sovereignty and advancing the international engagement of the digital renminbi. Ultimately, the research proposes the contours of a“minimum international monetary public order”for the digital age—one that reconciles technological transformation with the normative foundations of the international legal system, thereby contributing to the dual project of theoretical reconstruction and institutional design in contemporary monetary governance.
Biography
My name is Wensi Wu, and I am a Ph.D. candidate at Guanghua Law School, Zhejiang University. My research area is International Financial Law, with a focus on international monetary governance. I have a strong research interest in the dual trends of monetary development: the digitization of sovereign currency and the digital monetization of non-sovereign currencies.
