The European Central Bank is evaluating the development of a stablecoin 🚨 This article is 5 years old...
The European Central Bank is evaluating the development of a stablecoin
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Updated: Mar. 14, 2022 at 12:46 am UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
The president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, pledged to meet the growing demand for stablecoins by getting “ahead of the curve” in the rapidly evolving economic environment.
The European Central Bank embraces blockchain technology
Speaking in Frankfurt, Germany, for her first press conference as president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde made it very clear that she is going to do things her way.
Lagarde affirmed:
“I will have my own style. Don’t over-interpret, don’t second guess, don’t cross-reference. I am going to be myself and therefore probably different.”
Under this conviction, Lagarde vowed to put the ECB at the forefront of blockchain technology with regards to stablecoins. According to the former International Monetary Fund chief, stablecoins make transacting “as easy as using social media” and offer significant benefits to the people’s digital lives.
As a result, the ECB set up a task force to make significant strides toward establishing and achieving clear objectives for the development of its own digital currency.
Lagarde explained:
“By mid-2020, we will identify the purpose that we have with that. Are we trying to reduce costs? Are we trying to cut out the middle man? Are we trying to have inclusive finance at no cost? There is a whole range of objectives that can be pursued. So, I think we will start by doing that, then we will identify the technicalities of it all.”
The French politician recognized that the current Euro digital payment systems that the ECB has put in place are not at the “front end” and require a “better take up” for broader adoption. And, some of the stablecoins in the market are capitalizing on this opportunity.
Lagarde stated:
“My personal conviction is that given the developments we are seeing, not so much in the Bitcoin segment but in the stablecoins projects… We’d better be ahead of the curve… Because there is clearly demand out there that we have to respond to.”
Lagarde’s remarks come after the European Council and Commission released a joint statement claiming that “no global ‘stablecoin’ arrangement should begin operation in the European Union until the legal, regulatory and oversight challenges and risks have been adequately identified and addressed.” Along the same lines, her predecessor, Jean-Claude Trichet, said in November that he has a strong stance against Bitcoin since it lacks the “the characteristics that a currency must have.”
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Bitcoin, a decentralized currency that defies the sway of central banks or administrators, transacts electronically, circumventing intermediaries via a peer-to-peer network.