The European Central Bank’s plans to launch the digital euro are being resisted by many people in Germany, Austria, Netherlands, and Slovakia.
The concern is that a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) will leave them dangerously dependent on technology. They also worry that a CBDC would intrude on their privacy and put savings at risk.
These fears stem from the ECB’s pursuit of a CBDC, which officials believe to be better than physical cash. Officials will vote on its implementation in late 2025.
ECB officials told Bloomberg that the digital euro will have advanced safety features and privacy. Encryption and hashing will ensure that transactions are private.
Additionally, the bank will ensure that the currency will be easy to use and available to senior citizens and new arrivals.
In a statement in 2023, Christine Lagarde, the bank’s president, reiterated that the digital euro will co-exist with physical cash and its transactions will be free of charge.
CBDCs And Conspiracies Theories
It is not just Europeans who are concerned about a CBDC.
In the US, politicians — especially those on the right — have come out against a digital dollar.
Republican candidate Donald Trump has vowed to fight CBDCs if he wins the 2024 presidential election, calling them “very dangerous” due to government overreach.
Trump was once “not a fan” of Bitcoin (BTC) or cryptocurrency in general.
I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2019
The twice-impeached former president, who faces a sentencing hearing for 34 state felonies on Sept. 18, has since embraced the industry. He currently owns at least $1 million in digital currency.
Florida’s Republican Governor, Ron DeSantis, also opposes a digital dollar, CBDC, and other foreign-issued digital currencies.
Other opponents argue that a CBDC would make it easy for governments to follow China’s example and launch a social score, where bad behavior is punished and good behavior is rewarded.
Chances of implementing a U.S. CBDC, or digital dollar, would require the approval of the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the president.
In the past few years, the number of central banks researching or working on CBDCs has grown.
China has already introduced a digital yuan while the Bank of England is in the design phase of the digital pound. Officials will make a final decision on the currency in the next two to three years.
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