EU Confirms its Firm Stance on All Digital Currencies

The EU has confirmed its firm stance on all the digital currencies until the associated risks have been adequately assessed. 

In a joint statement by the Council of the European Union and the European Commission (EC), it was announced that although digital currencies provide a much faster way of payments, they provide far more risks and challenges. 

The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) approved the statement on December 5 based on the data in an official document released in late November. 

For now, it’s not clear whether the newly released statement would affect any further course of action or would become the basis of future laws and regulations. 

In the statement released, several threats associated with the adoption of digital currencies are outlined. The statement reads, 

“These arrangements pose multifaceted challenges and risks related for example to consumer protection, privacy, taxation, cybersecurity, and operational resilience, money laundering, terrorism financing, market integrity, governance, and legal certainty. [..] These concerns are likely to be amplified and new potential risks to monetary sovereignty, monetary policy, the safety and efficiency of payment systems, financial stability, and fair competition can arise.”

According to the joint statement, the risks associated with the stablecoins should be mitigated before allowing them in the EU. 

“No global ‘stablecoin’ arrangement should begin operation in the European Union until the legal, regulatory and oversight challenges and risks have been adequately identified and addressed.”

Several nations are thinking of introducing their own digital currencies. Yesterday, the governor of the central bank of France announced the bank’s plans to introduce its own digital currency in the first quarter of 2020.