EDITORIAL
> The governor of the Banque de France, François Villeroy de Galhau, announced the launch in 2020 of experiments to develop a "central bank digital currency" dedicated to transactions with very high amounts. Our columnist Nicolas Barré sees a desire to keep the currency in the face of competition from private companies.
The Banque de France against Facebook! Faced with plans to create currencies by Facebook, Amazon, JP Morgan or others, states are back to the wall and seek the parade. It's a question of sovereignty. Because with these digital cryptocurrencies, we could see large private groups compete with traditional currencies like the euro. China is the first country to be worried: the Chinese central bank has decided to create its own cryptocurrency. And that's what the Bank of France wants to do by launching a digital euro.
What is the difference between a digital euro and a normal euro?
A digital currency is a unit of account that is transmitted over a user-to-user computer network. The participants in the network create exchanges between them outside any currency. With a huge advantage: these computer exchanges are ultra fast, secure and cheap. They are also totally anonymous - that's why cryptocurrencies are also used in money laundering or terrorist financing operations. There are hundreds of cryptocurrencies like this because basically nothing prevents many users from agreeing and creating their own network to exchange virtual currency with each other. Hence the threat to traditional currencies.
So by creating a digital euro, the Bank of France is actually a competitor to these cryptocurrencies, to kill in the bud initiatives such as Facebook. The message is clear: money must remain in the hands of states. There is no question of allowing private groups to seize it. This battle is just beginning.