Study Will Be Conducted by National Bank of France Regarding Issuance of Its Digital Currency in 2020
The financial institution will conduct “serious and methodical research” on digital currencies. The Governor of the Central Bank describes France as a technology innovation enthusiast.
It was reported by AFP news agency that France is looking to test in 2020 digital currencies issued by central banks, especially the National Bank of France.
At a conference held by the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR), the governor of the National Bank of France, François Villeroy de Galhau, said that said financial institution will soon start to test digital currencies and that it “will issue a call for projects before the end of the first quarter of 2020,” according to the report.
According to Villeroy de Galhau, France is enthusiastic about contributing to the innovation of digital currencies. However, he also noted that the European country needs to experiment with the new technology systematically.
The financial official considers that they must contribute their stone to the building of this innovation [digital currencies], taking it seriously and following a methodological procedure. He perceives that there is an interest in moving quickly towards the issuance of a central bank digital currency to be the issuer at the international level and take advantage of the benefits of a digital currency of the central bank of reference.
Even though this digital currency must first be tested in a restricted context, for interbank use only, the governor of the National Bank of France also makes provision for the establishment of a “retail” digital currency aimed at individuals, which extends throughout the eurozone. The official said that there will continue to be debates on a model of society that does not need to use cash.
This news was released just after the Minister of Economy and Finance of France, Bruno Le Maire, appealed for the creation of a “public digital currency” at a meeting in the European Union. The minister had previously expressed his opposition to the cryptocurrency project of Facebook, Libra, saying that France would block the project if it was not able to address concerns about the potential risks that it poses to monetary sovereignty.
Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China is also experimenting with its own digital currency, the DC/EP. The financial institution said that it has been studying this new technology since 2014 and that they are almost ready to launch their digital currency.
However, the bank recently announced to clarify that they are still testing and researching the digital yuan, but they have not yet revealed the release date.
Apart from France and China, other countries are studying the issuance of cryptocurrencies by their national banks. Even the United States, with its FEDNow project, is aware of the relevance of crypto assets in today’s global economy.
By observing what other financial institutions have done regarding this subject, it will be easier for new venturers to make better decisions when attempting to issue and implement their cryptocurrencies.
By Willmen Blanco