The European Union has been actively preparing for what it imagines as the future of money. Over the past year, it finalized its landmark comprehensive crypto legislation, the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA), which will come into force in 2024, after lockdown. your second query in October.
It has also moved forward with its plan to introduce a central bank digital currency (CBDC), which is becoming the “digital euro”. The Bank of the Netherlands has described simply as an “electronic form of public money: the coins and bills in our wallets.”
Many local regulators are adopting the digital euro and promoting its potential benefits, although not everyone agrees. A recent survey carried out in Spain revealed that as much as 65% of Spaniards they are not interested in using the digital euro.
Slovakia's parliament even passed a measure in June that amended its constitution to codify the right of a citizen to pay for goods and cash services in the face of the imminent digital currency.
In Germany, a local politician is not only against the digital euro, but offers another digital solution for a financial revolution: Bitcoin.
Cointelegraph spoke with Joana Cotar, a member of the German parliament and Bitcoin activist, about her view of the digital euro situation and why she believes in the benefits of Bitcoin.
Cotar has been outspoken about her stance on the EU's digital currency solution, which she told Cointelegraph is that of "a staunch opponent of the digital euro."
"Nobody needs the digital euro," says a member of the German Parliament wearing a #Bitcoin T-shirt. pic.twitter.com/Rw4qdeKE0h
- Bitcoin Archive (@BTC_Archive) November 11, 2023
He said a digital euro could allow central banks to set an “upper limit” for payments and ownership, leaving citizens “powerless in [their] mercy."
The digital euro would also mean that each and every one of us could be totally controlled. As a convinced libertarian, I emphatically reject it. Whoever is against surveillance and in favor of freedom does not need a digital euro!
According to Cotar, China's social credit system should serve as a warning about the possibilities of cashlessness and state-controlled payment systems. "I don't want the authorities to be able to spy on our private lives and misuse this data," he said.
However, in April the director of the program for the digital euro Evelien Witlox of the European Central Bank said that “the ECB has no interest in users' personal data.” In October, EU data protection regulators issued a joint statement on anonymity in digital transactions in euros.
Related: EU finance chief: don't rush digital euro before new Commission in June 2024
Cotar is using her platform, among other things, to raise awareness among lawmakers about the potential dangers she believes are associated with the digital euro.
While Cotar may not be in favor of a digital euro, she is an advocate for Bitcoin. She is behind the "Bitcoin in the Bundestag" initiativewhich he told Cointelegraph is committed to raising toRaise awareness and educate members of the German Bundestag (MP) about the potential and risks of Bitcoin.
"It is very important for us to establish a formal Bundestag committee that recognizes the technological differences between Bitcoin and other crypto assets and primarily addresses the importance of Bitcoin for our society."
He said his initiative serves as an information resource for Bundestag members and helps them make more informed decisions about Bitcoin specifically.
As he explained his broader vision for bringing Bitcoin to regulators' consideration, one major change he would like to see is the allocation to pay taxes and fees paid in Bitcoin and the use of Bitcoin mining farms to stabilize the power grid.
“We need to promote the freedom aspects of Bitcoin (permissionless access, individual sovereignty); This includes protecting privacy, ensuring security standards, and avoiding excessive regulation to maximize the benefits of Bitcoin.
Cotar would also like to initiate a "preliminary examination" of a legal framework that would recognize Bitcoin as legal tender in Germany. "This includes guaranteeing legal certainty for companies and citizens," he said.
When a 72-year-old woman writes to you that she... #Bitcoin save for his grandchildren. How big can you get? At over 70 years old, you have more insight than many young people.
— Joana Cotar (@JoanaCotar) November 13, 2023
"We need to combat potential risks such as money laundering, tax evasion and other illegal activities associated with Bitcoin," he said. "But without stifling the innovation and freedom aspects of Bitcoin."
The Bitcoin-savvy lawmaker said her ideas for Germany could “easily be transferred” as a framework for other countries. Urges international cooperation to develop a general standard for Bitcoin and its cross-border use.
When asked if she feels equally passionate about other cryptocurrencies currently available on the market, her response was simply:
"My initiative is just Bitcoin."
On October 18, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced that it will begin atThe “preparation phase” for the digital euro project following a two-year investigation into potential digital currency across the EU.
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