#5minF – 5-Minute-Friday
The principle of the “5-Minute-Friday” is probably known to many by now. This concept also fits perfectly for the popular podcast model. Every Friday, Alexander Bechtel, Jonas Gross and Michael Blaschke explain a question of the crypto community in a short and crisp way in five minutes.
On 14th April the European Central Bank (ECB) published the results of its consultation on the digital euro. Individuals and companies had until January 2021 to make their views known on the digital euro – now the consultation has been evaluated in detail. More than 8,000 participants used this opportunity to discuss, for example, what they think a digital euro should look like. How do eurozone citizens envisage the digital euro? Which characteristics should it fulfil? What about anonymity, programmability and security? In today’s 5-Minute Friday episode, Jonas Groß tackles these issues and discusses the key findings of the ECB’s digital euro consultation.
The consultation clearly shows that the citizens of the euro area want one characteristic above all for the digital euro: Anonymity. For example, a digital euro, like cash, should allow anonymous payments, so that no third party, such as a bank or central bank, can access confidential transaction details.
It is also clear that almost three quarters of respondents also see an important role for banks in the digital euro ecosystem, through which CBDCs could ultimately be distributed to citizens. In order to mitigate the expected negative impact on the financial sector, the majority of respondents voted for a CBDC holding limit, a kind of maximum amount, or a staggered interest rate with partially negative interest rates on CBDC.
But how are the results of the survey to be interpreted? Should a CBDC actually allow anonymous payments? More on that in today’s 5-Minute Friday episode.
Bitcoin, digital euro or cryptocurrencies: The future of money is being rewritten right now. With the Crypto Corner, we provide a point of orientation for crypto enthusiasts without falling into a hype. Alexander Bechtel and his colleagues from Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll regularly bring useful and interesting content about digital currencies and especially the digital euro.