Representatives of the European Central Bank are keeping their finger on the pulse, preparing to develop new platforms for working with digital assets.
Recently, ECB officials unveiled a two-phase plan to develop a payment system that will be a key tool for transactions involving central bank funds. This initiative, aimed at supporting foreign exchange and other international financial transactions, will leverage distributed ledger technology.
The ECB's current strategy includes the creation of a settlement platform that uses central bank money. This platform will enable transactions based on distributed ledger technology. This innovation is expected to boost the European digital asset market by facilitating the adoption of new technologies while maintaining security and stability.
Earlier, Piero Cipollone, a member of the European Central Bank's executive board and responsible for the project, emphasized the importance of innovation for the efficiency of European financial markets. "This is an important contribution to enhancing European financial market efficiency through innovation. Our approach will pay due attention to the Eurosystem’s goal of achieving a more harmonized and integrated European financial ecosystem," the official said.
The development of digital asset infrastructure in Europe is linked to other projects in the field of pilot initiatives, in particular a central bank digital currency (CBDC), which is especially relevant for cross-border transactions. The ECB has previously recognized the importance of payment systems for digital assets, including the digital euro, in competing with dollar-backed stablecoins.
Despite this promising new initiative, the ECB maintains a cautious approach to digital currencies. Earlier, ECB President Christine Lagarde rejected the idea of adopting Bitcoin as a treasury asset, citing concerns about its high volatility and potential use in money laundering operations.
