On an event organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), former president of the Fund and current president of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde stated that ECB might create a digital currency in the near future. Lagarde highlighted that the pandemic has influenced the way we work and behave. COVID-19 also influenced the ways economies function, and how they do transactions.
In the context of pandemic expansion, the companies working online have increases and the consumers started using online commerce to obtain goods and services. The e-commerce industry saw an increase of 20% since the measures started in February. The ECB wants to see this industry continue to expand in the future.
Regarding the digital euro Christine Lagarde noted: “Virtual currency can never be a substitution for cash. It plays the role of a supplement very well and it is a good partial substitute for what is transferred in a physical way.”
However, Lagarde didn’t comment on cryptocurrencies already in place such as Ethereum or Bitcoin. During the last few years, the crypto market expanded throughout the whole world and are now utilized as investments, while they can be also used as a mean of payment for goods and services.
The are many central banks in the world seriously researching the potential and functioning of the digital currencies. Many central banks have taken big steps in this direction. For example, China, South Korea, United Kingdom, and others.
