Blockchain firm Monerium thinks Europe 'already has' a digital euro

Consensys-backed e-money issuer Monerium thinks the route to a digital euro is simpler than the European Central Bank suggests.

The fintech, which focuses on bridging fiat money with blockchains by issuing programmable digital cash, published a response to the ECB's recent public consultation on the digital euro on Oct. 13.

In summer 2019, Monerium had become the first company worldwide to receive a license from Icelandic regulators as part of a new European regulatory framework for e-money services across the European Economic Area.

In its response to the ECB, Monerium argues that all Europe needs to do is to recognize it already has "a proven form of digital euro."

Embracing existing e-money issuers is preferable to the ECB directly issuing digital currency to households and non-financial corporations, in Monerium's view.

To back up its case, Monerium points to a report from two International Monetary Fund economists, which proposed that non-bank providers could issue digital money with the central bank's backing in order to roll out a synthetic central bank digital currency.

Europe's existing e-money framework, in Monerium's view, is already fit for the IMF's key criteria for a stable digital currency.

As reported, the ECB has made it clear that it will come to a decision on whether or not to launch a digital euro project towards the middle of 2021.

An ECB report in Oct. 2020 outlined the scenarios and requirements for a future digital euro.

Crucially, the central bank considers a CBDC to be a matter of "Strategic autonomy" for the Eurozone, at a time when stablecoins from private and overseas actors threaten to "Undermine financial stability and monetary sovereignty in the euro area."