ECB forced to introduce CBDC soon?

The ECB (European Central Bank) pointed out the importance of a CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency). The ECB stated this in its recent report “The international role of the Euro.”

More and more countries are about to launch a CBDC. Yesterday, DEFI TIMES reported new developments regarding a CBDC in Thailand.

It seemed that the EU was lagging behind this development. But now, the ECB stressed the importance of a CBDC. This is because the ECB is afraid of foreign tech companies that could introduce their own currency. The most prominent example of that is Facebook’s Diem coin.

The report pointed out:

“One concern could be a situation in which domestic and cross-border payments are dominated by non-domestic providers, including foreign tech giants potentially offering artificial currencies in the future. Not only could this threaten the stability of the financial system, but individuals and merchants alike would be vulnerable to a small number of dominant providers with strong market power,”
Report: The international role of the Euro (June 2021)

Interesting is, that the ECB did not mention DeFi in the report. Apparently, the ECB is more worried about tech companies than DeFi. The ECB fears that tech companies could steal parts of their “market share.”

The report of the ECB also explained the advantages of CBDCs, such as low transaction costs.

It seems so that the introduction of a CBDC is inevitable – not because of bitcoin or DeFi but tech companies!