• The Italian Banks Association Rallies Behind the Digitized Euro
• Prominent Crypto Scammer Arrested

The Italian Banks Association Rallies Behind the Digitized Euro

A digitized euro has the approval of Italian banking firms, provided it won’t force them out of business. A trade organization for the nation’s banking sector, known as Associazione Bancaria Italiana (ABI), also demanded in the latest publication that financial institutions be paid for their contribution to the distribution of the digitized euro.

Italy was one of the strongest proponents of a digitized euro inside the EU. A local central bank’s digitized currency has the endorsement of ABI, which has driven multimedia experts and interactive technologies to the euro movement since 2020. Within its latest document, its members, 700 in total, reaffirmed its backing for the digitized euro.

The ABI recently voiced worry that implementing a CBDC could lead to cutting off financial institutions acting as intermediaries, similar to other financial institutions all over the globe; this is because customers would get easy financial access from the central bank, possibly avoiding private banks and decreasing their financing over time.

The ABI has encouraged the European Central Bank (ECB) to be sure that the financial firm’s intermediary position is protected while creating the CBDC to ease these worries. In addition, the virtual currency should offer modernized operations and avoid competing with currently available financial institution products, preferably by utilizing distributed ledger technology (DLT).

The ECB has previously opposed the ABI’s recommendation that the virtual euro be programmable, arguing that doing so would limit the currency’s flexibility and fungibility.

The ABI has suggested that these banks should be rewarded or paid for their involvement in the digitized euro loop, even though the ECB intends to distribute the virtual euro through existing financial institutions.

Commercial banks are anticipated to spend much money on anti-money laundering screening, dispute resolution, and other tasks. The Association of German Banks (BdB), which has also called for fair pay for commercial banks distributing the digitized euro, has backed this plan.

The BdB recently suggested that commercial banks should be well compensated because they will assist the ECB in fulfilling its social purpose by dispersing the digitized euro.

As we approach closer to the adoption of Central Bank Digital Currencies, cutting banks acting as intermediaries is a problem widely felt in Europe and worldwide. Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, voiced similar worries about the digitized dollar and warned that it would force small banks to close.

Prominent Crypto Scammer Arrested

Do Kwon, one of the founders of Terraform Labs, has been prosecuted by American prosecutors in New York concerning the $40 billion collapse of the cryptocurrencies Luna and TerraUSD. Kwon is charged with eight counts, including fraud, for allegedly misleading consumers regarding the technology and user acceptance of the Terra blockchain.

The Securities and Exchange Commission also filed a lawsuit against Kwon last month, alleging that he and Terraform misled investors by marketing crypto asset securities with the promise of future value appreciation. In addition, the interior minister of Montenegro announced Kwon’s arrest and said that local authorities are attempting to confirm his identity.

To also be tied to reliable currencies like the USD, TerraUSD was designed as a stablecoin. Nevertheless, by the end of May, the price of TerraUSD and its sibling coin, Luna, fell sharply far below $1, causing owners of the assets to lose more than $40 billion.