Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Privacy, Stability, & Monetary Sovereignty: EU Central Bank Board Member Defends Digital Euro Idea

Privacy, Stability, & Monetary Sovereignty: EU Central Bank Board Member Defends Digital Euro Idea

In an era of increased interest in cryptocurrencies, both unregulated items, like Bitcoin, and "stablecoins", governments around the world are seeking ways of keeping up to date with modern trends. Several central banks are currently exploring the idea of introducing sovereign digital currencies.

The introduction of a digital euro, if it happens, will have a positive impact on both consumers and governments, a member of the European Central Bank's (ECB) Executive Board, Fabio Panetta has suggested in an interview with the Financial Times. The board member put a strong emphasis on the projected digital euro being able to better protect consumers' private data than any "stablecoin" – a privately issued cryptocurrency backed by real assets, unlike decentralised ones such as Bitcoin.

"If the central bank gets involved in digital payments, privacy is going to be better protected […] because we are not like private companies. We have no commercial interest in storing, managing, or monetising the data of users", the ECB board member stressed.

According to Panetta, the ECB believes that people's main concern when it comes to the digital euro is the erosion of privacy. He claimed that unlike privately established cryptocurrencies, such as Facebook's planned stablecoin Diem, no person in the transaction chain will have access to the full information about the transaction, meaning no one will be able to easily pin a specific transaction to a person.

He added that smaller transactions of up to 70 or 100 euros will be completely anonymous as they will be done via a Bluetooth connection between two devices. Larger transactions, however, will have some level of government oversight in order to prevent the use of the digital euro, an electronic version of the EU's currency, for money laundering and other illicit activities.

"A payment can be reconstructed [after the event] if the police want to assess whether there's been any illicit activity", Panetta explained.

'Threat' to EU Monetary Sovereignty


In contrast to the planned digital euro, decentralised cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, already provide complete anonymity for both sides of the transaction regardless of its size, at least to the point before a person decides to convert their cryptocurrency into an ordinary central-bank issued currency. This is why unregulated cryptocurrencies have recently been favoured by those involved in criminal activities, such as drug trafficking or ransomware and why many governments around the world, as well as the ECB, have considered ways of countering the decentralised cryptos – from outright bans to offering a centralised alternative.

"If people do want to pay digitally and we do not offer them a digital means of payment, somebody [else] would do that", Panetta elaborated.

The emergence and growing popularity of unregulated cryptocurrencies are perceived as a "threat" that can undermine the EU's monetary sovereignty, the member of the ECB's Executive Board stated. The digital euro might become the central bank's answer to this challenge, he explained.

Yet, its introduction is not a done deal as discussions are still underway. The initiative is opposed by commercial banks, which expect an exodus of client money in favour of digital euro tokens. Such a scenario might prompt a crisis due to the loss of liquidity. Fabio Panetta, however, assures that the ECB won't let the digital euro undermine commercial banks' stability too much. One of the planned ways to do that is by either limiting the amount of euros a person can hold in their digital wallet to 3,000 or by incentivising people against having sums above that limit, the ECB board member said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
×