EU Releases Digital Euro Bill with Enhanced Privacy Controls and Offline Security Assurance
A digital euro, according to the governor of the Bank of Finland, might improve consumer services across Europe
Olli Rehn, governor of the Bank of Finland, advocated the possibility of a digital euro centralized bank digital currency (CBDC) working in tandem with private fintech solutions to ease the cross-border payment of services across Europe in a novel speech at the University of California Berkley that was published on Wednesday.
The examination of the viability of the digital euro by the European Central Bank (ECB) started in late 2021 and is expected to be finished in October 2023. Rehn explained the usefulness of the prototype digital euro by saying:
"In an increasingly digital economy, a digital euro would provide individuals more options for paying and make it simpler to do so. It would extend the use of digital central bank money beyond banking transactions to ordinary peer-to-peer payments between individuals, covering both online and offline companies."
Rehn stated that the absence of a monetary base makes privately generated cryptocurrencies inherently unstable. He stated that although digitalization increases the efficiency of financial services, it also makes them more susceptible to cyber-attacks and other types of cyber risks, noting that these risks of money laundering, financial crime, and other illegal activities are compelling arguments for "safe and legal means of payment in the digital age via CBDCs."
The ECB declared CBDCs to be the superior cross-border payment option over stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies earlier this month. The ECB said that disparities in value between transfer start and finalization make it suited for large amount transactions, and criticized the settlement times seen in networks like Bitcoin.
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