ECB President Wants Bank To Be 'Ahead Of The Curve' On Digital Currency

The Euorpean Central Bank President Christine Lagarde looks for the ECB to be “ahead of the curve” on cryptocurrency.

In Lagarde’s first news conference as President of the ECB, she stated that the bank needed to figure out what direction it wanted to go with the project before getting into the smaller details.

“Are we trying to reduce costs? Are we trying to cut out the middleman? Are we trying have inclusive finance at no cost? There is a whole range of objectives that can be pursued,” said Lagarde

The ECB has been weighing the pros and cons of creating their own digital currency, which would give holders direct claim on the central bank, similar to bank notes but without having to store the cash.

Digital currency would provide a quick and economical means of payments but could have huge ramifications on the financial system and the central bank’s own policy.

One example would be, depositors switching to the ECB’s currency in times of financial turmoil, which would only serve to throw more gasoline on the fire.

By Ramsey Baker

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