By The Central Bank of France will test own central bank digital currency targeting financial institutions in 2020.
As revealed by the governor of the Bank of France, François Villeroy de Galhau, the bank will start the test before the end of the first quarter of 2020. In a statement, the governor said, “We intend to start experimenting quickly and launch a call for projects for the private sector players by the end of the first quarter of 2020.”
This decision was agreed upon during a conference in the presence of two significant French regulators, The French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority and the Autorité des marchés financiers.
The Objective of the Project
The initiative of the project is to strengthen the efficiency and productivity of the financial system while at the same time increase confidence in digital currency.
Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Economy and Finance in September called for the creation of a public digital currency. He also mentioned that it was crucial that the country is not outdistanced by countries such as China that are quickly advancing on similar cryptocurrency projects. In a statement, the minister stated,
“ I see the interest in rapidly advancing the issuance of at least one central bank digital currency in order to be the leading issuer globally and get the benefits associated with providing an exemplary central bank digital currency. ”
France and other countries such as Italy and Spain want to cut on project Libra ahead of its possible launch in 2020. The idea is to safeguard the sovereignty of the national currencies such as the Euro.
Adopting blockchain Tech and Crypto Use
France remains at the forefront of blockchain adoption with the implementation of several blockchain-related projects and crypto implementation. Keplerk, a French crypto startup, relaunched a service to accept Bitcoin payments covering more than 5,200 tobacco shops in the country.
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