An increasing number of central banks have announced intentions to introduce the so-called Central Banks Digital Currencies (CBDC) The pack is led by a surprising central bank – none other than the European Central Bank (ECB). Why surprising? Because the ECB (and Europe in general) is known for reacting slower when compared to, for instance, the United States. To give you an idea, during the 2008-2009 Great Financial Crisis, the Fed in the United States slashed the federal fund rate to zero. Later, it innovated via quantitative easing. ECB did the opposite. It hiked the key interest rate in the middle of the … (full story)