Stornetta previously co-authored a 2021 report arguing that future CBDCs should preserve decentralization and privacy safeguards rather than concentrate financial oversight within centralized authorities.

Stornetta views Bitcoin as the early stage of blockchain-based finance, with substantial innovation to come from Ethereum, layer-2 networks, and stablecoins.

He notes Ethereum expanded blockchain utility through smart contracts, while Bitcoin layer-2 solutions and Ordinals add functionality and indexing, and he believes stablecoins enable real-world value within blockchain ecosystems.

Globally, CBDC adoption is advancing, with 146 countries exploring CBDCs representing over 98% of global GDP, highlighting the stakes of maintaining decentralization and privacy amid central oversight.

He warns that CBDCs pose risk not only from transparency issues but from the potential concentration of power in centralized financial monitoring, urging balanced, interoperable systems that preserve decentralization and privacy.

Stornetta’s view builds on his 1991 paper with Haber, How to Time-Stamp a Digital Document, which laid the groundwork for blockchain integrity across decentralized networks.