Behind the central bank scramble to unveil digital currencies

Momentum is building In Europe

When Facebook announced its plan to launch Libra in 2019, the news caused a collective outcry from global central banks and finance ministers.

Officials were concerned stablecoins would pose a threat to financial stability and weaken the transmission mechanism of monetary policies, ultimately undermining the sovereignty of nation states. While Facebook's project has since been dramatically scaled back, the announcement served not only as a turning point for regulators, who quickly realised stablecoins need to ‘do no harm', but it also accelerated central bank efforts to understand the costs and benefits of issuing a digital currency. As these efforts have gathered pace, with more than 80 global central banks researching cent...