The European Central Bank (ECB) plans to develop an alternative public cryptocurrency, according to a new report on Forbes.
French and German government officials back the supposed ECB’s plans for a development of a digital currency, which could become a potential rival to Facebook’s Libra and Bitcoin(BTC)trade like other popular cryptocurrencies. These news can certainly make global crypto investors think about their investment decision which may affect the crypto market in an unknown manner.
Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition commissioner who was appointed this week as the European Commission’s executive vice president for digital, could become the most lethal threat to Libra and Bitcoin. She has been hired to revamp the current regulatory infrastructure of digital in the EU and her enthusiasm seems to be incredibly high to accomplish the ECB’s goal.
Not only her but several other ECB officials support the plan for the development of a native digital currency, including ECB board member Benoit Coeure, France’s & Germany’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and Olaf Scholz respectively.
Backing the ECB’s plan to develop an alternative public cryptocurrency, France and Germany, the two most powerful nations in the EU, have already said they could ban Facebook’s Libra in Europe due to the risks it poses to monetary sovereignty.
At an OECD conference on cryptocurrencies, the French economy and finance minister Bruno Le Maire bashed Facebook’s Libra and said:
“I want to be absolutely clear: In these conditions, we cannot authorize the development of Libra on European soil.”
In addition, the German economy and finance minister, Olaf Scholz, at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Helsinki, further stated:
“France and Germany consider that the libra project, as set out in Facebook’s blueprint, fails to convince that those risks will be properly addressed.”
In June, Facebook revealed its plan to roll out its Libra cryptocurrency which, according to several financial experts, can be in direct competition with the U.S. dollar. In fact, many fear that Libra will serve as the predominant global currency and might replace the USD. However, Facebook’s Libra is already suffering from several political and regulatory issues in the U.S., which demand it to halt the development of Libra.
Along with the German and French finance ministers, ECB board member Benoit Coeure has also labeled Facebook’s Libra plans as “a wakeup call,” and said, “We need to step up our thinking on a central bank digital currency.”
The social media giant from the United States has put many EU countries in worry and Margrethe Vestager has already started taking necessary actions against such perceived threats. The rapid development of Facebook’s Libra and other ambitious blockchain and crypto projects other firms and startups has already forced EU officials to think about the effect it will have on national monetary sovereignty.
Ursula von der Leyen, the EU Commission president-elect, told reporters on Tuesday that Margrethe Vestager “will work together with the internal market, innovation and youth, transport, health, and justice.”
