Jonas Gross and his colleagues at the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center are at the forefront of programmable money and Central Bank Digital Currency research. We were lucky enough to have their insights in our recent report, "CBDCs: Geopolitical Ramifications of a Major Digital Currency".

However, they have moved forward again, founding the Digital Euro Association to drive innovation, collaboration, and education around the development of a digital payments system for the Euro Area. One of the biggest questions that remains for us, is how a centralised digital currency might interact with the cryptos and stablecoins already out there.

Gross says:

'It is not clear yet how a digital euro would look. Even though the ECB has sketched out first design dimensions of the a digital euro in a recent report, no decision has been taken. Therefore, it is impossible to make precise predictions about the interactions with stablecoins.

'However, I would expect that a digital euro will not necessarily replace private stablecoins.

'It currently looks as if the use of the a digital euro might be restricted and that the digital euro might not be based on a DLT. Therefore, using stablecoins as means of payments - especially for DLT use cases as discussed above - could be even beneficial'.

We're waiting to see what happens as more countries inch towards launching their CBDCs and if the ECB settles on a formal approach to these privately issued payment systems. In the meantime, catch the full interview here.