The launch of the digital euro could give every European a free, universal payment account. But this grand vision is at risk of being curtailed by a well-coordinated lobbying campaign of the banking industry. Banks want to make sure you will keep needing them – and they have EU officials’ ears.
They’re even more scared of Bitcoin. But they can’t stop it. People in power are terrified of things they can’t control. Imagine how the world might work differently if the government and private banks couldn’t print away all your money’s value? What would you spend your money on? How would governments fund wars people didn’t agree with, by raising taxes? Bitcoin has a clear fiscal policy that has worked for 15 years. It is accessible to anybody in the world with a smartphone and occasional internet service. With lightning, transactions confirm globally in under a second for pennies in fees. Bitcoin’s market cap is bigger than Sweden’s GDP, 850 billion dollars and growing on average every year.
The only thing anyone is scared about with Bitcoin is that it will burn so much energy that it will accelerate climate change. As a currency it failed years ago in case you haven’t noticed.
No one is scared of bitcoin. You can’t use it down your local shop to buy your groceries with. This EU digital currency can do that.