The Central Bank of Ireland claims that it is not a question of if,...

• The president of Ireland’s central bank compared buying cryptocurrencies to collecting stamps while applauding the possibility of a digital euro
• According to Makhlouf, introducing a digital euro would mark a fundamental change in the Eurozone’s financial architecture
• One of the main goals of our work will be to maintain the public benefit that the euro now delivers to citizens (free access to a simple, globally recognized, risk-free, and trustworthy method of payment), while also preparing for change as cash usage declines and digitalization increases

The president of Ireland’s central bank compared buying cryptocurrencies to collecting stamps while applauding the possibility of a digital euro. While the Eurozone has yet to settle on a central bank digital currency, Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland Gabriel Makhlouf believes it is extremely probable to materialize. 

It’s not a matter of if, but rather how and when, the governor said on Thursday in a bank blog post. According to Makhlouf, introducing a digital euro would mark a fundamental change in the Eurozone’s financial architecture. 

Cryptos, on the other hand, was met with an unhelpful and misleading descriptor, according to the governor, as they fell outside of the definitions of currency.

On the other hand, on the evidence, some individuals do want to collect them, just as some people do like to collect other things (such as stamps, for example), and buying such goods can be profitable but it can also be loss-making, Makhlouf said. Stablecoins were also targeted by Makhlouf, who said that the pegged cryptos were only as good as the governance behind the guarantee of the backing. The governor is a British citizen who assumed office in September 2019. According to his LinkedIn page, he was previously the secretary and chief executive of the New Zealand Treasury. In March, Ireland’s central bank issued a warning to businesses operating in the country that they would be subject to anti-money laundering regulations. 

In May, it also issued a warning to investors about the dangers of cryptocurrency.

The ECB agreed earlier this month to investigate the possibility of developing a digital euro. This follows our study from last year, which laid out our preliminary findings on the subject. 

One of the main goals of our work will be to maintain the public benefit that the euro now delivers to citizens (free access to a simple, globally recognized, risk-free, and trustworthy method of payment), while also preparing for change as cash usage declines and digitalization increases. 

We must evaluate these concerns to guarantee that money stays suitable for its intended function as a public benefit.