trust the plan friend
The ECB goes forward with the Great Reset: introducing the Digital Euro (1/2)
beware EU anons, the European Central Bank (BCE) is already brainstorming how to sell you the Digital Euro
A digital euro
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/html/digitaleuro.en.html
The ECB, as guardian of the euro, provides currency in two forms: we issue banknotes and we transfer electronic deposits to banks and other financial institutions.
Digitalisation has spread to every corner of our lives and transformed how we pay. In this new era, a digital euro would guarantee that citizens in the euro area can maintain free access to a simple, universally accepted, safe and trusted means of payment.
A digital euro would be an electronic form of central bank money accessible to all citizens and firms – like banknotes but in a digital form. It is not meant to replace cash, but rather to complement it. Together, they give people more choices about how to pay, and make it easier for them to do so, increasing financial inclusion.
The Eurosystem will continue to ensure that all citizens have access to euro banknotes and coins across the euro area.
“The euro belongs to Europeans and we are its guardian. We should be prepared to issue a digital euro, should the need arise.”
Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB
Why a digital euro?
A digital euro would make your daily payments faster, easier and more secure. It could support the digitalisation of the European economy and actively encourage innovation in retail payments.
The ECB and the national central banks of the euro area are exploring the benefits and risks so that money continues to serve Europeans well.
What are other benefits of a digital euro?
A digital euro would preserve the benefits that the euro provides to all of us. It would help to deal with situations in which people no longer prefer cash.
It would help cushion the impact of extreme events – such as natural disasters or pandemics – when traditional payment services may no longer function. It could also be crucial if people were to turn to foreign digital means of payment, which might undermine financial stability and monetary sovereignty in the euro area.
When will it be ready?
During the preparation phase, we are working on the concept, starting practical experimentation on possible designs, and discussing with stakeholders and international partners. Towards the middle of 2021 we will decide whether to launch a digital euro project. This will be followed by an investigation phase on user requirements and service providers.
It would take time to develop a safe, accessible and efficient digital currency. We will ensure that the systems we use to pay keep up with the needs of the people who use them.
“We need to make sure that our currency is fit for the future. Inaction is not an option.”
Fabio Panetta, ECB Executive Board Member
The ECB goes forward with the Great Reset: introducing the Digital Euro (2/2)
We’ve analysed the possible benefits and challenges of a digital euro
What might it look like?
It is too early to identify any specific type of digital euro. Experts from the ECB and the national central banks of the euro area have laid down a number of basic requirements for a digital euro, such as easy accessibility, robustness, safety, efficiency, privacy and compliance with the law. These will help us to define what it might look like.
Even if a digital euro has not been necessary so far, we should be ready if and when developments make one necessary.
Will the ECB manage a digital euro?
The ECB is the custodian of the euro, be it as banknotes or in digital form, on behalf of the people of Europe. We want to make sure the value of our money is preserved and that any form of digital euro is ultimately safeguarded and regulated by the central bank.
Whatever the design and the functioning of a digital euro, it would be an electronic form of central bank money, accessible to all citizens and firms – like banknotes but in a digital form – to make their daily payments in a fast, easy and secure way.
Why would a digital euro not be a crypto-asset?
Crypto-assets are fundamentally different from central bank money: their prices are volatile because they lack any intrinsic value and there is no reliable institution backing them.
People using a digital euro would have the same level of confidence as with cash, since they are both backed by a central bank, which is something crypto-assets such as stablecoins cannot provide.
Share your opinion with us!
Like the euro we already use every day, the design of a digital euro should meet the needs of a broad range of users. Any assessment must therefore take into account all of its implications, for instance for monetary policy and financial stability.
We have launched a public consultation: have your say by 12 January 2021!
A new horizon for pan-European payments
Payments are undergoing a fundamental change, and central banks have a key role to play in this process. European payments must be underpinned by a competitive and innovative market capable of meeting consumer demand while preserving European sovereignty. In this context we have set out a comprehensive payments strategy for the digital age.
A digital euro for the digital era
A digital euro would be a digital symbol of progress and integration in Europe, said Executive Board member Fabio Panetta when presenting the report on a digital euro. Since the introduction of the euro, the ECB has been responsible for preserving citizens’ trust in our currency. Together with cash, a digital euro would be accessible to all and offer greater choice and easier access to ways of paying.
fraud
agreed, would be much easier if legal avenues succeed
BIS head of innovations [BIS=Central bank of central banks] on digital curencies (1/3)
The BIS strategy around digital currencies
Learn what the ennemy has in store for us re. digital currencies.
src: https://www.bis.org/speeches/sp201113.htm
(translated from French)
November 13th, 2020
After China, Europe and the United States are now interested in digital currencies. Why now?
We are experiencing an important change in payments. On paper there is nothing extraordinary because throughout history, central banks have always accompanied the evolution of technology and society. But here the change is rapid, especially because it's been thirty years since the world of payments has changed very little. Things had changed for "wholesale" customers, on the side of the central banks and commercial banks, but had hardly changed on the side of the customers.
In France, for example, until a few years ago, the available payment instruments were still cash, checks and credit cards, as in the 1990s. And this is true all over the world. In this area, the banking world was innovative thirty years ago, but has now fallen asleep on its laurels. Technology has changed all that.
Shake up what exactly?
Innovation first came from the consumer side. They are the ones who set the tempo. It all started with Paypal in the early 2000s. Then there was Apple Pay, Google Pay and the smartphone payment revolution- But these innovations don't fundamentally change the payment circuits because they only concern the customer interface. When you pay with PayPal or Apple you still give your payment card number. And so the money is routed from one bank account to another, just like before.
The real trigger was the announcement of Facebook's Libra project, which has completely changed the nature of innovation, because the project is no longer focused solely on the customer interface. It's a global, closed and self-sufficient project, since it has both a means of payment, a storage mechanism with a wallet, and a global network that allows transfers from one place to another without going through the central banks' settlement systems. The project has benefits for users, but the emergence of closed payment circuits dominated by technology giants poses risks for both competition and data protection. And if you add to that the disaffection with banknotes in many countries and the explosion of online transactions, especially with Covid, you can see the magnitude of the change. You can see the numbers, it's impressive. Central banks need to rethink their software and review their role in this new environment.
Precisely, how do they see their role?
The situation is simple: if the ECB, the Fed and the other central banks want to continue to fulfill their role vis-à-vis society, which is to ensure financial stability and to ensure that monetary policy can spread throughout the economy, they must adapt their methods of intervention to the new digital order. As Tancrède Falconeri says in the novel Le Guépard, "for everything to remain as it was before, everything must change". The question is how to continue to ensure the smooth operation of payment systems in an environment where they have radically changed.
The response of seven central banks, including the ECB and the U.S. Federal Reserve, in a recent report published by the BIS, is that the time has come to move forward, together, but each at its own pace. We need to move forward on digital currencies, which are part of the solution. We need to define common principles and study technological solutions together. But everyone will implement them at their own pace and according to their own specificities. The answers cannot be uniform. Each country has its own financial system. In some countries, commercial banks are very present, in others less so. Elsewhere, many people do not even have a bank account. Preferences in terms of means of payment are different from one country to another, as well as in terms of the anonymity of transactions. Money is a matter of sovereignty and all these issues can only be decided after a very broad consultation of society.
BIS head of innovations [BIS=Central bank of central banks] on digital curencies (2/3)
Which central banks are the most advanced on the subject of digital currencies?
Some countries have a head start, it's true: China, Sweden or small countries like the Bahamas are among them. These countries have already started testing their digital currencies and the results are interesting.
Is the euro zone lagging behind?
In the euro zone, unlike Sweden or China, the demand for banknotes is still strong. Their role is declining as a means of payment, but they remain a means of saving. People continue to store banknotes under their mattresses. No one wants to force consumers to choose their means of payment. Diversity is a good thing and it encourages innovation. The goal is good to offer choice, which means allowing consumers to continue to pay with money issued by the central bank. Because if central banks don't do anything, we're heading for a world where the only way to pay for your coffee around the corner will be by credit card or mobile payment. And this is money that comes from your bank account, so it's money issued by a commercial bank and not by the central bank.
Digital central bank money is simply the digital equivalent of coins and banknotes - the safest currency available, issued by a public institution. In the future, you will be able to pay for your coffee in a variety of ways: of course with bills and coins, which will remain available for as long as you need them, but also with bank cards, digital currency issued by the central bank, payment systems such as Apple Pay, PayPal or - when a suitable regulatory framework has been decided upon - with Libra. If you want to pay in Bitcoin, why not, if you and the merchant understand and assume the risks associated with this active crypto.
If central banks and tech giants are making digital payments, aren't banks like BNP Paribas in danger of being gradually squeezed out?
Of course not, banks will stay in the game if they seize these opportunities to offer new services to their customers.
But the stakes are different depending on the type of payment. In France, to take the example of the coffee you pay for at the counter, between your bank account and the coffee shop, the circuit is relatively short and inexpensive. There is a cap on credit card fees, and the ECB now even offers real-time transfers that cost banks only 0.2 euro cents per payment - it's up to them to pass on this very low cost to their customers.
On the other hand, money transfers between countries are still very inefficient. Hence the G20's plan to make international payments simpler and cheaper. It's very simple: if you work in France and make a transfer to your family in Africa, this transfer will go through a whole chain of intermediaries. You need a correspondent bank, you need to make a foreign exchange transaction? Shortening these financial circuits is a real challenge for development and financial inclusion, and I am delighted that the international community is finally tackling it seriously.
This is one of the arguments of the Libra. No one is seriously considering that the Libra should replace the euro in everyday transactions in the euro zone. On the other hand, in all international payments, especially transfers between developed and developing countries, digital currencies can provide solutions, whether they are private - in which case they will have to be adequately regulated - or issued by central banks.
BIS head of innovations [BIS=Central bank of central banks] on digital curencies (3/3)
Libra will precisely be on a blockchain. Is this indispensable?
The debate is open. But the blockchain is not mandatory. China's digital currency does not use one. Using existing real-time payment infrastructures is one of the options considered in the recent ECB report on digital currency. One can also imagine hybrid solutions where the relationship between the central bank and commercial banks would use a blockchain but the digital currency would be distributed to individuals through more traditional channels. Anything is possible. We don't have any preconceived ideas, but the blockchain is of course one of the options.
What role does the BIS Innovation Cluster play in this sector?
The BIS Innovation Cluster is a laboratory: our role is to experiment. For example, together with the Swiss National Bank we have started to experiment with an interbank digital currency for stock exchange and institutional transactions. The first results will be published in December. This is just the beginning. More globally, what we are trying to do is to make sure that everyone works together, to animate international cooperation.
The strength of the BIS is to have 62 member central banks representing the whole world, from Europe to China and from the United States to Vietnam. It must be kept in mind that discussions on digital currencies are complicated because they touch on sovereignty and security. There is a lot at stake, so it's an every man for himself risk. The BIS is a neutral place where everyone can discuss what is best for the smooth functioning of the global economy.
it could help with comparing the 'official' Wayne county tally, if the guys declares under penalty of perjury it is legit, and he is himself legit
or maybe there is a way to authenticate his data with crypto
>CNN: A foreign company based in Venezuela should not be running American Elections
at first, I was "what?? CNN??". Then I saw Lou Dobbs
nice find
>I think the Dominion angle is a goose chase as well. The Dominion vote switch doesn't work without fake ballots switched in (see GA recount).
maybe it's pointless for us to look for faults, since we cannot do much on that topic
however, I am sure /ourguys/ have all the goods on it, and therefore it is important to have regular people made aware of Dominion