Photo: iStock
Marcell Horváth
25/11/2025 08:00
The key concept of 21st-century economics is connectivity—the networked functioning of systems, institutions, and societies. Its cradle lies in finance: money was the first universal language, creating shared value, trust, and humanity’s first global network—the Silk Road.
Through history, financial revolutions have served one purpose: faster, safer, and more predictable cooperation. From bills of exchange to central banks and digital payments, each innovation aimed to let trust, capital, and information flow freely across borders. Yet connectivity only brings true advantage when backed by stable institutions, transparent regulation, and international coordination capable of managing risks and preventing crisis chain reactions.
From Bretton Woods to the present
The Bretton Woods Agreement was born from the desire to bring order to financial chaos. The creation of the IMF, the World Bank, and later the BIS laid the foundations for both financial cooperation and a new geopolitical order. After the gold-exchange system collapsed, globalization was unleashed, yet the idea that nations must cooperate for stability endured.
The spirit of Keynes remains relevant in today’s age of digital, green, and geopolitical change. As Jeffrey Sachs warns, global problems require global cooperation. The challenges of globalization now demand a new financial logic built on data, technology, and trust.
The newest financial revolution is emerging not in the West but in the East. China, South Korea, and Kazakhstan lead the development of central bank digital currencies, while fully digital banks—such as Korea’s KakaoBank—are transforming financial services. These innovations form integrated digital ecosystems, where payments, trade, and communication converge on platforms like Alipay and WeChat. In this AI-driven, data-centric universe, money is no longer just a transaction tool but a network of data points linking economies and societies.
The future of finance
Green finance reflects similar dynamism: initiatives in Singapore, China, and South Korea show that future financial systems will be both digital and sustainable. Financial connectivity has thus become value-based as well as spatial—connecting markets while shaping new norms.
As geopolitics realigns, new financial partnerships emerge. BRICS expansion, alternative settlement systems, and gold-backed digital currencies all signal the rise of a multipolar financial order, where U.S. dollar dominance may give way to regional financial connectivity. The question now is who will become the key connectors—cities and institutions able to build corridors between multiple economic blocs. The coming decade may well be the age of multi-hubs: diverse financial centers linking East and West through networks of trust.
Budapest as a new pillar of financial connectivity
In this context, Budapest occupies a strategic position in Central Europe and has the potential to become a true multi-hub. The central bank of Hungary (MNB), working with the government, has recognized the importance of interconnection and, over the past decade, has launched international programs promoting financial digitalization, green finance, and Eurasian cooperation.
The MNB has forged partnerships with central banks in China, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates, focusing on digital currencies, sustainable financing, and cross-border payment systems. Through its Technical Assistance Program, launched in 2023, it organizes international seminars on green finance, digital payments, and financial infrastructure, providing a platform for knowledge-sharing and innovation between the central banks of Asia and Europe.
The Budapest Eurasia Forum, which annually brings together Europe’s and Asia’s leading financial and economic policymakers, has made the Hungarian capital both a hub and an intellectual center of financial connectivity. This multilayered network linking Asia and Europe—supported by the MNB’s professional, innovation, and educational platforms—positions Budapest not as a follower but as an active shaper of the new era of financial connectivity.
The author is former Executive Director for International Relations at the Magyar Nemzeti Bank, the central bank of Hungary, and Senior Research Fellow at the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs
