European Ministers raise flags about cryptocurrencies
- ECB’s governing council member join the camp of Libra critics.
- Europe needs to revise its retail payment systems.
A member of ECB’s governing council Coeure believes that Europe needs a single regulatory approach toward digital currencies. He expressed concerns about the rising trend of public currencies and noted that the European Central Bank might need to think about its own digital currency.
Notably, similar opinion was voiced on Thursday by the French Finance Minister Le Marie. He said that the possibility of creating public central bank digital currency (CBDC) was discussed with the head of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi and Christine Lagarde.
Obviously, European officials and regulators are anxious about facebook’s Libra and its potential influence on the monetary system. According to Coeure, many European Ministers expressed concerns about the project, while Le Marie said that it may lead to systemic risks and abuse of dominant position.
"Libra project made EU realize it needs to improve retail payment systems in EU,” Coeure said.
Author
Tanya Abrosimova
Independent Analyst
