Digital Euro is Designed to "Protect Consumer Privacy"- says ECB Board Member

The Digital Euro, a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) being developed by the European Central Bank, has been tipped as a more secure option when compared to privately issued cryptocurrencies, particularly stablecoins.

The Digital Euro's claims offer more superior privacy protection by an ECB Board member, Fabio Panetta, who criticized the profit-making agenda of private stablecoin issuers.

“We are not like private companies,” Panetta said in an interview with Financial Times. “We have no commercial interest in storing, managing, or monetizing the data of users.”

The ECB has been making many moves concerning its proposed CBDC, conducting a public consultation about the project. Back in April, Blockchain.News reported the publication of the results of the public consultation. It was discovered that “Privacy is the most important feature of a digital euro for both the public and professionals, especially merchants and other companies”. The report asserted with surveyed groups saying they “support requirements to avoid illicit activities, with fewer than one in ten responses from members of the public showing support for full anonymity.”

Corroborating the claims, Panetta claimed that “If the central bank gets involved in digital payments, privacy is going to be better protected [...] The payment will go through, but nobody in the payment chain would have access to all the information.”

Many users around the world have turned to privately issued digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, and Litecoin (LTC), to mention a few. One of the points of attraction is the anonymity these cryptocurrencies and their underlying networks offer users, a feature that many fear that a government-issued digital currency may lack. 

The ECB official noted that it had conducted offline testing for “small amounts, in which no data is recorded outside the wallets of payer and payee.” Based on this, Panetta maintains that the Digital Euro will be different, the reality of which will be uncovered as the proposed Digital Euro development progresses.

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