In Italy, the ABI Banking Association is preparing to start developing tests for the digital euro, the CBDC currency that the European Central Bank plans to launch for the entire Eurozone.
Just a few days after the president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, announced that the entity is ready to begin pilot tests at digital euro At the beginning of 2021, the Italian Banking Association (ABI), an organization that brings together several of the country's most important banks and financial intermediaries, revealed that it is ready to begin testing, analyzing and experimenting for the development of the region's future digital currency.
In June, ABI announced to the community that it would be ready to begin working on the development of the digital euro, together with the ECB and other central banks members of the European Union. Now, the association reveals which has already begun experimenting with the digital euro, implementing a comprehensive work programme covering the entire digital infrastructure for the creation of this currency and its use cases and applications.
ABi said that by covering these two areas of work, it is ensuring a complete and in-depth assessment of the digital currency, allowing it to evaluate its implications within the financial system of the region and at a global level.
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Digital Euro: One goal for all
Despite developing pilot tests and other trials separately, but jointly with the European Central Bank, the banks Générale Société, Banco de España, and now the Italian Banking Association, are pursuing the same goal: to create the digital euro and study its potential benefits and implications for the European economy.
The trial that ABI is currently carrying out is divided into two areas, to cover all areas of this innovation, the association explained in its statement. The first area, focused on the development of the entire infrastructure and distribution model for the digital euro, seeks to provide a broad analysis on the technical feasibility of developing this digital currency; while the second area, focused on the Programmability of the digital euro, will allow the organization to experiment with real-world use cases that enable participating banks and institutions to differentiate the European Central Bank's digital euro from digital or electronic payments already available on different banking platforms.
A hundred nodes throughout Italy
In its statement, the Italian Banking Association also reported that it has begun to develop tests and trials related to the infrastructure and distribution of the digital euro, together with the banking technology firm SIA. In addition, ABI assured that it already has a total of 100 active nodes distributed throughout Italy, thanks to the national banking network based on the blockchain from R3, tick.
In mid-October, ABI reported that nearly 100 Italian banks were already part of this blockchain network, which considerably helps to facilitate interbank data transfers between all participating entities.
Likewise, for the trials and pilot tests aimed at evaluating the potential use cases of the digital euro, ABI will have the support and participation of all the commercial banks that make up Spunta, in addition to the firms NTT Date, PWC y Reply, which have already made significant resources available for this project.
ABI also noted that all banks and financial institutions that wish to participate in the development of these tests for the digital euro are free to do so, as the initiative is open to all interested banks.
Responding to a global trend and need
The Italian Banking Association noted that the initiative to develop this digital currency responds to the global need and need of central banks to develop their own digital currencies, to stay at the forefront of innovation and technological development, and to address the potential risks and threats that the introduction of cryptocurrencies, , and digital currencies of other banks or private companies, within their economies.
The European Central Bank has been actively working on the development of this digital currency for the euro, and held a public consultation this year to find out the opinion of European citizens on the matter. The central bank also published a report in which it analyzes in depth the implications of issuing a digital euro, as well as the potential benefits that this would bring to the economic and technological development of the continent. According to this study, the ECB believes that the launch of this CBDC currency will significantly support the digitalization of the European economy, effectively responding to the growing needs of society, which is experiencing a complete transformation, especially in the financial system, due to the introduction and greater use of digital technology in almost all areas.
Finally, as we have already said at Bit2Me, the arrival of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) is a competition that is currently taking place in the world, with China at the forefront, in an effort to achieve technological advantage over other nations, and gain leadership. In the end, CBDCs are another attempt by governments and central banks to maintain dominance and control over our own finances, as they have done for centuries through fiat money, which is manipulable and censurable whenever they prefer.
Continue reading: The European Central Bank seriously considers the launch of a digital euro
