Digital Programmable Euro, Libra, and CBDCs: Impact of Digital Payment Initiatives on European Banks

The announcement of the Facebook-initiated stablecoin “Libra” 2019 is partly perceived as a turning point for the traditional financial sector. Central banks, too, are currently engaged in intensive discussions about introducing their own digital currencies, known as central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Philipp Sandner, Joans Groß, Philipp Schulden, and Lena Grale, of the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center, shed light on the perception of these payment initiatives by interviewing more than 50 high-ranking experts and examine the effects of digital programmable money on European banks.