ECB to decide on digital euro in the summer 2021

With a recent public comment period ending, the ECB is coming closer to deciding on a formal pursuit of a digital euro, or central bank digital currency (CBDC) It’s is inevitable in my opinion that this will happen, whether that starts in 2021 or next year.

Central banks of course want control, and they would lose that if privately-issued digital currencies like Facebook Libra or JPMorgan Coin became mainstream.

And the world is moving digital. Traditional banking systems and payment networks have been easy targets for disruption, due to their reliance on technology and that innovations brought on by blockchains distributed ledger technology.

The UK is now preparing to issue its own CBDC too.

An announcement made this Monday by Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, revealed that a task force by the Bank of England and the HM Treasury was set in motion for developing a potential CBDC.