By Ron Howells • Published: 12 Jun 2021 • 10:55
Spain's President Proposes Pioneering Plan To Create A Public Cryptocurrency
Spain’s President Pedro Sánchez Proposes Pioneering Plan To Create A Public Cryptocurrency.
The Spanish Government, led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, is considering being the first country in Europe to promote the creation of a public cryptocurrency by proposing to ‘copy’ the digital money model used by the Cayman Islands.
Spain would be the second in the world, after the Bahamas, to offer a digital currency linked to the euro. The proposal was made public by the PSOE in a document of law registered in the Congress of Deputies.
The Socialist Party is now urging the Government to promote (in collaboration with the Bank of Spain ) the creation of a group of studies to evaluate the implementation of a «digital euro» as a model of digital public currency (CBDC) which if created would be a cryptocurrency issued by the central bank.
The objective of the socialist group is for this cryptocurrency to give “financial stability” to both the Spanish economy and the eurozone as a whole.
According to a report by the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, more than 80% of the institutions consulted are already working on projects related to these cryptocurrencies.
The main difference between these public digital currencies and those of the private sphere (such as Bitcoins) is their application and functionality. The Government has assured that the public cryptocurrency is “safer than the private one”, accusing Bitcoin of having a “high volatility in its price” and a “significant environmental impact”.
Regarding the latter, according to calculations by the Center for Alternative Finance at the University of Cambridge, if Bitcoin were a country, it would consume as much electricity per year as Finland, Switzerland or Argentina.
UK to explore issuing its own digital currency amid bitcoin boom
As digital currencies like bitcoin continue to captivate investors and the world’s largest corporations, The Bank of England announced recently that it will set up a joint task force with the U.K. Treasury to explore the potential issuance of its own central bank digital currency (CBDC).
In a separate statement, the Bank of England said such a currency would be a “new form of digital money issued by the Bank of England and for use by households and businesses” that exists alongside cash and bank deposits rather than replacing them.
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Ron actually started his working career as an Ophthalmic Technician- things changed when, during a band rehearsal, his amplifier blew up and he couldn’t get it fixed so he took a course at Birmingham University and ended up doing a degree course. He built up a chain of electronics stores and sold them as a franchise over 35 years ago. After five years touring the world Ron decided to move to Spain with his wife and son, a place they had visited over the years, and only bought the villa they live in because it has a guitar-shaped swimming pool!. Playing the guitar since the age of 7, he can often be seen, (and heard!) at beach bars and clubs along the length of the coast. He has always been interested in the news and constantly thrives to present his articles in an interesting and engaging way.
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