ECB President Says CBDC Will Not Be Anonymous Because Of Blockchain

Lagarde fiercely blamed blockchain technology as a responsible factor behind the less anonymous feature nature of the upcoming Digital Euro, or say CBDC.

The European Central Bank (ECB) had announced the launch plan for the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), or say digital Euro. It is expected that Digital Euro will be available to use for public by 2027. ECB aims to provide an alternative form of Euro fiat cash so that people can use online daily banking services just like physical cash but with more safety & security. This year, the European Commission (EC) also proposed a set of rules for Digital Euro launch in 20 EU member countries. 

On 25 Sep 2023, the ECB president Christine Lagarde talked about CBDC, in order to provide some more insights about the anonymity & security features.

On CBDC anonymity, Lagarde said that it will not be fully anonymous because of the use of blockchain technology. In short, the whole financial activities via CBDC transactions will remain traceable because of blockchain technology, so people should not consider the EU’s upcoming new model of sovereign fiat currency fully anonymous, unlike cash.

She also added that they are working to protect citizens’ privacy despite these challenges.

“We are working to protect privacy, but since digital money leaves a trace on the blockchain, it will not be completely anonymous as is the case with a banknote.”

the ECB president said. 

The majority of the crypt proponents noted that the ECB president criticized the basic nature of blockchain technology but failed to appreciate the potential ability of this innovative technology at which the whole CBDC program will run.

CBDC & Conflicts 

Nearly 4 years ago, the first time, the CBDC concept came to light in the world. At the time, the majority of people called CBDC the best alternative to the physical form of cash. 

But in the present time, the majority of the people oppose the concept of CBDC because the majority of the central banks developed/developing CBDC just like a fully centralized form of money.

In short, CBDCs can be used to control citizen’s money power & also to trace people’s financial activities.

Recently Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin shared his opinion on the ongoing development of CBDC and said that CBDC development is not going through the way, as we had expected in the past. 

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