Digital Euro

[lornadane]

imo the biggest issue with the Digital Euro will be privacy, not tech. Europeans are already sensitive about surveillance, and a CBDC-like system controlled by the ECB will raise eyebrows. if they can guarantee offline payments and strong privacy (like cash), it might work. if not, people will resist hard.

[Abiky]

Digital Euro is just fiat 2.0, bro. Same central bank control, just with a digital leash. They can program it, turn it off, or tax you on every transaction. It's the opposite of Bitcoin's permissionless freedom.

Will it replace paper cash? Absolutely, that's the long-term goal. 'Co-exist' is just the soft launch phase.

Success? For them, yes. For us? It's a dystopian tool for total financial surveillance. The US 'falling behind' on CBDCs is a good thing. Let the EU and China build their panopticons. We'll be over here with sound, uncensorable money

The US will only be "lucky" as long as Republicans are in power. If Democrats take over again, it's likely the country will go full steam ahead with a CBDC. Inevitably, we will live in a world where privacy will be non-existent. It should only be a matter of time before this happens.

I feel sorry for the EU, as it goes one step backwards. The launch of a CBDC, its weak immigration policies, and the inability to defend Ukraine against Russia is one of the many failures of the bloc. US President Donald Trump was right all along with the EU facing a "civilizational erasure". It won't be long before the EU becomes history. We'll see what happens in the future.

[fillippone]

I firmly believe the ECB will never send the Digital Euro into production.
They now set the timeline to 2029, which means NEVER in the crypto space.
You cannot give the US-regulated stablecoins 4 entire years of advantage, when they are already delivering interesting products for the European investor/consumer.
They are hopeless in their strategy.

[Emeraldo]

nowadays the trend is that countries globally are starting to develop their digital currencies to catch up with the massive development of cryptocurrency today. the purpose of this digital currency is the same as fiat, but it can be used by everyone in their transactions, and it is different compared to e-wallets, because it was launched directly by the government.

and i think that this digital currency will not replace fiat completely, instead it will coexist and complement each other. because no matter what, fiat is still needed by people, but those who want to be practical can choose digital currency.

The Euro might need a digital currency but the USD does not need anyone because we already have different stable coins that are pegged to the USD. If the US created their own digital currency, that means many of these stable coins will not be recognized by the US and many will not be in existence again so that they don't have to compete with the digital dollar.
There is a reason why the Donald Trump regime has to scrap the idea of a digital dollar because this will make other countries to want to get their own digital currency.

[Abiky]

I firmly believe the ECB will never send the Digital Euro into production.
They now set the timeline to 2029, which means NEVER in the crypto space.
You cannot give the US-regulated stablecoins 4 entire years of advantage, when they are already delivering interesting products for the European investor/consumer.
They are hopeless in their strategy.

The EU can always adopt EUR-backed stablecoins as their own, de-facto currencies. No need to reinvent the wheel, by making a new digital currency from scratch. Or they can decide to stay with cash for the benefit of all. I hope the latter prevails and Europeans get to enjoy true financial privacy. Even stablecoins have their own privacy issues. Which is why, Bitcoin remains our only hope.

Even if Bitcoin gets banned by the EU, that doesn't mean Europeans won't use it. Bitcoin is decentralized, meaning anyone can use it freely regardless of what the government thinks about it. Right now, the US is one step above the EU. At least, in terms of crypto adoption. We'll see how long this lasts.

[fillippone]

I firmly believe the ECB will never send the Digital Euro into production.
They now set the timeline to 2029, which means NEVER in the crypto space.
You cannot give the US-regulated stablecoins 4 entire years of advantage, when they are already delivering interesting products for the European investor/consumer.
They are hopeless in their strategy.

The EU can always adopt EUR-backed stablecoins as their own, de-facto currencies.

This approach would have an enormous impact on the European landscape by displacing banks. Who would like to hold assets in a bank when you can have your exposure directly to the ECB?
Given the crucial role of banks in Europe (namely, buying the debt of quasi-defaulted European States), the ECB knows it cannot lose the support of banks; it's a delicate balance they cannot afford to lose.

[Abiky]

This approach would have an enormous impact on the European landscape by displacing banks. Who would like to hold assets in a bank when you can have your exposure directly to the ECB?
Given the crucial role of banks in Europe (namely, buying the debt of quasi-defaulted European States), the ECB knows it cannot lose the support of banks; it's a delicate balance they cannot afford to lose.

For that reason alone, the EU will remain in the "Stone Age" forever. What can only "save" it is the USD losing its status as the world's reserve currency. It could pave the way for the Euro (currency) to take over the world. I mean, it's the second-largest Fiat currency in the world right now. No USD = a quick accession towards the top spot (I think).

No one wants a currency that would spy on you every day and every hour. Again, a Digital Euro would be met with much skepticism by Europeans. But considering that we're living in a digital era, cash has its days numbered. The EU can come up with anything up its sleeves. We should expect the worse.