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Governments are discussing a draft privacy policy for the European central bank (CBDC ) although no official release decision has been made.
After a meeting with finance ministers on Monday, authorities said the digital euro would increase privacy for small transactions, but complete anonymity was not allowed.
The official release has not yet been officially decided, but the EU has considered combining innovative payments with the aim of combating money laundering for both the digital euro and other digital currencies such as Bitcoin. The Ministries agree that in any form, the new format of the Euro must appropriately address the issue of privacy. Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said the new rules would be against the unwarranted purposes of using the euro.
Donohoe, who chairs eurogroup ministerial meetings: "In terms of the level of risk, licensed privacy will be more for small, secure transactions, and vice versa." He explains: "Low-value offline payments often take place between people close to each other. For example, when you're at the store and with friends, the payment won't be for financial purposes. Donohoe also backed recent proposals put forward by Fabio Panetta of the European Central Bank.
The European Commission will soon hold a consultation on laws to provide legal support for the electronic euro, but the possible hassles and dangers with data files when applying an overly centralized system are also warned.
Speaking to reporters on the issue, Paolo Gentiloni of the European Parliament said: "Complete anonymity is not desirable."
Last week, the European parliament passed a controversial anti-money laundering regulation requiring verification of personal identities, even if it is small bitcoin transactions. Many in the cryptocurrency industry argue that this is an invasion of privacy and hinders innovation.
