> This seemingly counterintuitive paradox can be explained by demand for banknotes as a store of value in the euro area coupled with demand for euro banknotes o

> This seemingly counterintuitive paradox can be explained by demand for banknotes as a store of value in the euro area coupled with demand for euro banknotes outside the euro area,” the ECB’s analysis concluded. Strip away the jargon and it’s just another way of saying that people want banknotes because people want banknotes. I think they missed the point massively in this article, the ECB comment is pretty self explanatory. What they mean here is that other central banks (Japan and China for instance) and autocrats (and not gangsters at least not significantly) prefer keeping their foreign currency in cash despite the extra costs because western countries have the annoying habit to lock foreign electronic funds on a whim.