Reuters
- European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said Monday that the ECB is “very serious” about the design of the digital euro.
- At the virtual IMF event, Lagarde said the epidemic has caused a number of structural changes, including “we work, trade and pay.”
- He said that due to the epidemic, between February and June 2020, e-commerce has increased by about five per cent in terms of volume and size.
- But he said the digital euro would only be a “supplement” to cash, and would never change it.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
The European Central Bank took a step closer to exploring the creation of a virtual currency, with President Christine Lagarde on Monday saying she was “very seriously considering” the digital euro.
In a virtual meeting hosted by the International Monetary Fund, Lagarde said: “The ECB is very seriously looking at digital Europe.”
The Kovid-1 epidemic has led to a number of structural changes, including “we work, trade and pay,” he said.
Lagarde said the result has been a significant increase in digital payments, especially in countries like Germany and Italy where “cash was king”.
“People [used to] Walk around with notes in [Germany and Italy], ”She said.
Lagarde said the epidemic caused e-commerce volumes and sales to rise by almost five per cent between February, when it hit Europe, and in June this year, when many stricter lockdown restrictions were eased.
He added, “There is more confidence in digital payments and significant change is underway.”
In a study published earlier this month, the ECB said the digital euro would help citizens earn money in a rapidly changing digital world.
read more: The SPACA has been in the U.S. this year. In 39 billion rage. The executive behind his first ETF explains how retail investors can use it to level the playing field with the Wall Street Titans like Warren Buffett.
“If the development around us makes it necessary, and we should be ready to give up the digital euro,” Fabio Panetta, a member of the European Central Bank’s executive board, said in a blog post related to the study. “It means we need to prepare for it already.”
The bank had earlier said that the eurosystem – the ECB and the national central banks that have adopted the euro – would decide in the middle of next year whether to proceed with the proposal.
Eurosyst has to consider key concerns such as potential cyber threats, the right to privacy, and the central bank introducing digital currency means it will receive sensitive information on users.
It will also have to consider legal considerations such as the effects of different design features and the basis for issuing.
Lagarde said the digital euro would not replace cash, only complement it.
“The digital euro will never be a substitute for cash. It is a very good complement to the work done on a physical basis and a very good fraction.”
Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Etherium have grown in popularity among merchants and shop online shoppers. The total value of the crypto market has reached about 60 360 billion this month, up from about 175 billion dollars just three years ago, according to data from Cinemarketcap.com.
read more: Goldman Sachs: Buy these 15 stocks set to deliver the strongest growth in profits and subsequent returns by the end of the year.
A number of central banks have started trial of digital payments.
According to the Guardian, People’s Bank of China launched the use of the digital yuan, currently the world’s first digital currency endorsed by the central bank, which is in four major cities earlier this year.
Sweden’s Riksbank has been testing the electronic version of Krona for months.
But other major central banks, such as the Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan and Bank of England, have adopted a more cost-effective approach to the introduction of central bank-backed digital currency.
.
