Why Peter Bofinger doesn’t believe in the digital euro – Economy

The ECB is working on digital cash, the former economist Peter Bofinger doesn’t think much of it. A conversation about the merits of bills and coins, nervous central bankers and why China isn’t a role model.

Interviewed by

Jannis Bruehl and Markus Zydra

Financial experts call the money in the bank account private money. Because it is created by private institutions – the commercial banks. Central bank money, on the other hand, is called banknotes and coins – the money that central banks print or mint and circulate on behalf of the state. In the digital age, in which many people do without cash, the European Central Bank (ECB) is now asking the question: Do we also need cash euros in digital form? The ECB has been studying how a digital euro could be introduced since 2021. The currency guardians write in their progress report of some advantages. Peter Bofinger, former economist and professor of economics at the University of Würzburg, doubts that digital money is even needed.

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