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> If “we can address all the conspiracy theories that abound about this – as if Big Brother was going to suddenly determine what you buy, when you buy it and ho
by eimrine 3y ago
> If “we can address all the conspiracy theories that abound about this – as if Big Brother was going to suddenly determine what you buy, when you buy it and how restricted it should be – then I think it would be characterized as a success,” Lagarde said, adding that the digital euro will need to offer privacy without full anonymity, and be user-friendly, free and universal.
Can you ELI5 this statement?
- PaulHoule 3y agoIt's a tough requirement. Financial services need to offer a high level of privacy but they also need to KYC (Know your Customer) to control money laundering, tax evasion, etc. That is, a truly anonymous and fully private service is a non-starter. The conventional model where a private bank is responsible to you to maintain your privacy as much as possible and is responsible to the state to reveal information when it is required by law (not the caprice of administrators) fits those requirements well. If the state is running the whole thing there is going to be less trust. Digital currencies have other paranoia-provoking properties that somebody might be useful. For instance for economic stimulus it might be desirable to issue money that expires (the point is they want you to spend it not save it) or money that can only be spent on certain things. Things like that drive some people to think they want physical cash, gold bars, etc.