In 2025, I managed both to finish more books than in 2024 (35) and to buy more books than ever before (395). I know, the latter number sounds alarming, and, frankly, it is. It amounts to more than one book acquired per day. In my defence, some of these books were bought as gifts, which is a…
Who’s afraid of AI music?
Judging by the tone of recent debates, many people are, and not only because of the technology itself. Much of the anxiety reflects a romantic image of how music is supposed to be made: the lone genius at an instrument, capturing inspiration in a single take. In reality, 2025 was significant not because AI suddenly…
The physics of money: From shells to quantum states
Quantum computing poses new risks for the financial system by undermining traditional cryptography — but it can also enable impossible-to-counterfeit quantum money. While today’s digital money is a product of the first quantum revolution of the early 20th century, it is the second quantum revolution of the late 20th century that poses its greatest challenge….
DLT for FMI: What is Missing?
Distributed ledger technology (DLT) is frequently highlighted as a game-changer for financial market infrastructure (FMI). Yet despite numerous pilots, proofs of concept, and even some production deployments, DLT has neither replaced nor fundamentally transformed today’s financial markets. Its adoption remains largely limited to niche applications. To better understand why, a cross-sector roundtable brought together participants…
Books I read in 2024
In 2024, I finished exactly 30 books—fewer than the 43 I read last year but still one more than my 10-year average of 29 a year. Meanwhile, according to my bank statements, I bought 231 books in 2024 (Seriously!!?). You see the problem here. Guys, stop publishing so many new books! How am I ever…
Quantum Computers are coming!
Quantum computers evolved from theoretical concepts in the 1980s to experimental realisations in the 2000s and are now in the early stages of practical application. Although many technical challenges remain, the field is advancing rapidly towards practical, large-scale quantum computing. Significant breakthroughs are expected in the coming years. Quantum computers offer great opportunities to solve…
On Cryptocurrencies, Blockchain, and CBDC
https://cvj.ch/en/hot-topics/minds/thomas-moser-on-cryptocurrencies-blockchain-and-the-snbs-cbdc-efforts/ Interview with Crypto Valley Journal, April 27, 2023 CVJ: Digitalization is shaping the most diverse parts of our society. For a good decade now, the digitalization of currencies has also been coming to the fore. What changes is the Swiss National Bank observing in this transition phase? Thomas Moser: Digitalization is already well advanced in…
Economics Curriculum Dr. Suess Style
Oh, the things you’ll learn in an Economics class, Where the concepts are deep, but the lessons will last! There’s micro and macro, and so much to know, You’ll see the world in a whole new glow! First up is micro, the study of supply, And the way that demand can make prices fly high….
Jazz is dead; Long live the music
I just returned from the Festival da Jazz, the three-week Jazz Festival in St. Moritz, where I attended 4 concerts, all in the Dracula Club. The thing about the Dracula Club is that it’s way too small for the number of people they let in (I don’t know how they get away with it), which…
Is Economics a Science?
On October 11, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences will award the 53rd Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, or, as it is correctly called, the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, since it is not one of the prizes originally endowed by Alfred Nobel but by the Swedish Central Bank….