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Rome’s Financial Volatility to Shock the Eurozone — Hedge Funds Bet $39 Billion Against Italian Debt
4.9.2022
Hedge funds are betting against Rome’s liabilities as S&P Market Intelligence data indicates investors have amassed a $37 billion short bet against Italian debt. The hedge funds are betting large against Italian bonds and investors haven’t bet this high against Rome since 2008...
Eurozone Inflation Taps Highest Rate Ever Recorded Reaching 9.1%, as Nord Stream, Gazprom Halt Gas Supplies
31.8.2022
The Eurozone’s inflation rate reached a record high in August of 9.1%, the highest ever recorded in history, according to Europe’s statistics office Eurostat. The rate was higher than economists suspected and most of the rise was fueled by Europe’s rising energy prices....
Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Predict Euro-Area Recession
29.7.2022
Global investment banks Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan have predicted an imminent recession in the euro area. “The risks to our forecast are skewed toward a sharper recession in the event of an even more severe disruption of gas flows, a renewed period of sovereign stress or a U.S....
ECB Calls for Urgent Regulation of Stablecoins and Defi, Won’t Rule Out Bitcoin Mining Ban
14.7.2022
A new report by the European Central Bank (ECB), presented as a “deep dive into crypto financial risks,” calls for “appropriate” regulation and oversight of stablecoins and decentralized finance (defi). It also addresses the hot topic of Bitcoin’s carbon footprint...
ECB Considers Capping Digital Euro in Circulation at 4,000 per Capita, Panetta Reveals
17.6.2022
With concerns about financial stability in mind, the European Central Bank (ECB) plans to limit digital euro holdings, according to Board Member Fabio Panetta. The plan is to have a maximum amount of digital cash in circulation similar to that of euro banknotes today, the official unveiled....
ECB Survey Finds 10% of Eurozone Households Own Crypto Assets
25.5.2022
One in every 10 households in six eurozone countries has acquired cryptocurrencies, the European Central Bank (ECB) has found with a new survey. While the richest are most likely to own crypto assets, poor families are not far behind, the poll indicates. Dutch Households Lead in Terms of Crypto...
Cryptocurrency Is ‘Based on Nothing,’ Should Be Regulated, ECB’s Lagarde Says
21.5.2022
President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde has insisted that unlike a digital euro, cryptocurrency has no underlying asset. It should be regulated to prevent people from losing their life savings by speculating on crypto assets, the top ECB official has suggested. Cryptocurrency...
ECB Favors Transparency Over Privacy in Digital Euro Design, Presentation Reveals
5.5.2022
The European Central Bank (ECB) leans toward a “transparent” digital euro over one that ensures a higher level of privacy for its users, a presentation devoted to the project has indicated. In the document, the monetary authority explores different privacy options for...
Top ECB Official Ramps Up Anti-Crypto Rhetoric, Calls for Global Regulations
28.4.2022
Comparing the rise of crypto assets to the gold rush, a top executive at the European Central Bank has urged governments to take action to prevent “a lawless frenzy of risk-taking.” Speaking in the U.S., the ECB official called for a global regulatory clampdown on cryptocurrencies...
European Commission to Launch Digital Euro Consultations in March, Propose Bill Early Next Year
14.2.2022
The executive arm of the EU is gearing up to start public consultations on the digital euro project next month. The European Commission will also prepare new legislation to establish the legal basis for the digital version of the common European fiat. A draft is expected in 2023. EU Finance Chief...
Euro Inflation Hits Record Highs, ECB Not in Rush to Raise Interest Rates
16.1.2022
The European Central Bank is concerned over inflation in the euro area rising beyond its own expectations, a high-ranking ECB official has admitted. However, Europe’s monetary authority is not prepared to raise interest rates at this point in time, the executive unveiled. ECB Sees No Reason...
ECB Paper Marks Success Factors for CBDCs, Digital Euro
4.12.2021
A paper published by the European Central Bank (ECB) discusses various conditions for successful implementation of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) such as the eurozone’s own digital euro. The authors also point to different risks that such projects entail, like the danger of crowding...
Eurosystem Approves New Oversight Framework Concerning Crypto Services
23.11.2021
The monetary authority of the euro area, the Eurosystem, has introduced a new framework for overseeing electronic payments, including services related to crypto assets. The new set of rules will complement upcoming EU regulations for cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. ECB Aims for Secure...
Digital Euro Should Be Attractive But Not ‘Too Successful,’ ECB’s Panetta Says
7.11.2021
The digital euro should be an attractive means of payment but its design should prevent it from becoming so successful as a store of value that it threatens banks and private money, according to Fabio Panetta, a high-ranking executive at the European Central Bank. Panetta stressed that both this...
Future of Digital Euro ‘Not Clear Yet,’ Former Eurogroup Official Says
22.7.2021
Europe’s digital currency project has made some progress recently, with the Eurozone’s central bank moving to its next stage. Critics point, however, to the continuing lack of clarity around the design and purpose of the digital euro after a decade-long delay, if cryptocurrency is taken...
Digital Euro Project Gets Going as ECB Launches Investigation Phase
15.7.2021
After months of deliberation, the European Central Bank has decided to proceed with a digital euro project. Officials insist the new version of Europe’s common currency should “ensure privacy” and provide access to “the safest form of money” at...
Bank of France, Swiss Crypto Bank Test Securities Settlement Using CBDC
23.6.2021
The Bank of France has successfully completed an experiment involving the use of CBDC to settle listed securities. The test has been carried out with the help of an alliance of partners led by SEBA Bank, a digital asset banking provider based in the Swiss crypto valley. Central Bank and Crypto...
Swiss, French Central Banks to Trial Wholesale CBDC Settlements With BIS and Private Sector
11.6.2021
The central banks of Switzerland and France are joining hands with the Bank for International Settlements to test wholesale central bank digital currencies in cross-border transactions. The experiment will be conducted with the help of a private sector consortium led by Accenture. European Central...
ECB: Digital Euro to Boost Global Appeal of European Money, Fight ‘Artificial Currencies’
4.6.2021
The digitization of traditional currencies like the euro has the potential to increase their international appeal, the European Central Bank says in a new report. A failure to offer a digital currency would endanger financial stability, ECB warns. The regulator is concerned about the prospect...
ECB in Full-On Emergency Mode as ‘Unprecedented Decline’ Hits Eurozone
2.5.2020
The euro area is facing an “unprecedented” economic decline, the worst since records began. European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde paints a picture of a central bank in full-on emergency mode after the bank kept its interest rates unchanged. Unprecedented Economic...