Christine Lagarde, the President of the ECB, or the European Central Bank, made the announcement of a task force to pave the way for the creation and implementation of their digital Euro.
The ECB Governing Council "...decided on the monetary policy and the standard interest rate, after which ECB President Lagarde organized a press conference together with ECB Vice-President Louis de Guindo."
Why Digital Euro?
Lagarde explained that ECB is keen on identifying the objectives of the proposed digital Euro, saying that the taskforce should be ready within the first half of 2020. She also emphasized that the ECB must be “ahead of the curve” on the issue.
Before launching a digital currency, the European Central Bank (ECB) has to identify its priorities and decide what it aims to achieve with the unit.
“Are we trying to reduce costs? Are we trying to cut out the middleman? Are we trying to have inclusive finance at no cost? There is a whole range of objectives that can be pursued,” Lagarde stated.
The entire focus, at the conference, was in the rush of interest from national digitized cryptocurrencies from other countries. As one might suspect, actual cryptocurrencies that currently make up the multi-billion dollar market, were not the focus, nor were they mentioned.
In November, the ECB revealed its intentions to launch a digital currency. The plan was part of a wider scheme to proscribe crypto projects that it considered “high risk,” particularly the Facebook-allied stablecoin, Libra. Since its launch, European leaders have heaped criticism on the stablecoin, barring its progress in the region.
It is important for those interested in, and involved in the crypto space be aware that the national and international governmental interest in cryptocurrency is not one of aligned growth for the health of the marketplace, but a fight to the top of the stablecoin food chain, and for all intents and purposes, there is a crypto war brewing, and the tops of their fields are poised to grab for control.
The original source article can be found here:
https://coinspace.com/news/global/ecb-ahead-curve-launching-its-own-digital-currency-lagarde
