Digital Euro: Adan issues its recommendations to the European Central Bank

Through its participation in the ECB’s public consultation, Adan brings its vision of the fundamentals and issues associated with the issuance of a digital euro / digital euro, and wishes to answer the Bank’s questions.

• Adan supports the conduct of experiments by central banks on the digital euro, whether the ECB or the Banque de France (Association welcomed its project initiated in early 2020 with the industry).
• The Adan recalls the specificities of blockchain technologies and the advantages they present in the case of the issue and management of a digital euro, and its use by end-users.
• Adan believes that deploying the digital euro on open blockchain networks would make it all the easier to comply with the requirements set out by the ECB in its Report on a digital euro: accessibility, transparency, composability, interoperability, efficiency in terms of implementation and usage costs, robustness, confidentiality, etc.
• Adan thus draws the attention of the ECB to consider the full range of blockchain solutions available, including the most open and open source networks, and not only proprietary technologies. Adan also clarifies the reductive distinction made between “public” and “private” blockchains.

Adan’s vision and the answers provided are detailed in the response form sent to the ECB and available on this page.

Adan’s work was conducted within the framework of the European Crypto Initiative (EUCI).

Background

In the words of Fabio Panetta, a member of its executive board, the European Central Bank (ECB) wants to ensure “that [its] currency is ready for the future”. This is why in recent months the ECB has intensified its reflections on the issuance of a digital euro with a view to possible experiments. Thus, after the creation with five other central banks (including the Banque de France) of a group dedicated to the evaluation of possible scenarios for digital central bank currencies (MDBC) within the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), and the publication of its Report on a digital euro, the Bank wished to evaluate the necessity and feasibility of a digital euro by consulting potential users and the industry on their needs and their perception of the implications of this project, particularly for monetary policy and financial stability. This consultation, which closed on January 12 and to which Adan took part, will enable the ECB to decide by mid 2021 on whether or not to launch a digital euro project.