Share this article
BTC
$78,717.56
-
1.02%ETH
$1,557.88
-
4.10%USDT
$0.9995
-
0.01%XRP
$1.9192
-
3.67%BNB
$554.45
-
0.69%USDC
$0.9998
-
0.01%SOL
$106.71
-
1.12%DOGE
$0.1482
-
2.73%TRX
$0.2280
-
2.38%ADA
$0.5823
-
1.08%LEO
$8.9274
+
0.52%LINK
$11.44
-
1.14%TON
$3.0240
-
0.61%XLM
$0.2334
-
2.75%AVAX
$16.89
+
3.07%SHIB
$0.0₄1136
-
0.58%SUI
$2.0225
+
4.00%HBAR
$0.1499
+
4.27%OM
$6.2746
+
4.95%BCH
$278.57
+
0.99%Sign Up
- Back to menuNews
- Back to menuPrices
- Back to menuResearch
- Back to menuConsensus
- Back to menuSponsored
- Back to menu
- Back to menu
- Back to menuResearch
- Back to menuWebinars & Events
- Back to menu
ECB's Lagarde Has 'Hunch' Digital Euro Will Launch in 2-4 Years
ECB President Christine Lagarde says the impetus for a central bank digital currency could come from the need to facilitate cross-border finance.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said she believes the region's monetary authority will move to launch a digital version of the euro in the next two to four years.
Story continues
"We might well go in that direction," Lagarde said Thursday on a virtual panel with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey. "My hunch is that it will come."
ECB officials have previously disclosed they are conducting research into a central bank digital currency, and Bank of Finland Governor Olli Rehn told Reuters last month he believes a digital euro is "very likely" to debut in the next decade.
Read more: Bank of Spain to Weigh Digital Currency Design Proposals, ‘Implications’ Through 2021
Lagarde said a digital euro would take extensive time to develop, including not just the underlying technology but anti-money-laundering controls and prevention of terrorism financing. She noted that China's central bank has been working on a digital version of its yuan for several years.
As reported by CoinDesk, China is already conducting trials of the digital yuan.
"If it is going to facilitate cross-border payments, we should explore it," Lagarde said Thursday, though she does not expect paper money to disappear.
"A digital euro will not be a substitute for cash," she said. "It will be a complement."
For his part, Fed Chair Powell reiterated the U.S. central bank is evaluating the merits of a digital dollar, but has not yet made a decision on creating a digital currency. The Fed is looking into the merits and possible technical solutions to a digital dollar, though it does not appear likely to launch one within the next few years.
Read more: Debate Rages on Whether a Digital Dollar Will Unleash Inflation
The Bank of England's governor, meanwhile, said there may be privacy concerns for privately issued stablecoins, and CBDCs may be the "answer to that bar." Bailey has said in the past he would like to see a global framework for regulating stablecoins.
Bradley Keoun
Bradley Keoun is CoinDesk's managing editor of tech & protocols, where he oversees a team of reporters covering blockchain technology, and previously ran the global crypto markets team. A two-time Loeb Awards finalist, he previously was chief global finance and economic correspondent for TheStreet and before that worked as an editor and reporter for Bloomberg News in New York and Mexico City, reporting on Wall Street, emerging markets and the energy industry. He started out as a police-beat reporter for the Gainesville Sun in Florida and later worked as a general-assignment reporter for the Chicago Tribune. Originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, he double-majored in electrical engineering and classical studies as an undergraduate at Duke University and later obtained a master's in journalism from the University of Florida. He is currently based in Austin, Texas, and in his spare time plays guitar, sings in a choir and hikes in the Texas Hill Country. He owns less than $1,000 each of several cryptocurrencies.
