Kicking Off the EU’s Foray Into Digital Cash

Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg’s daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union.

The commission today will lay out long-awaited plans to introduce a digital euro in an attempt to stave off Big Tech’s foray into cryptocurrencies and establish a sovereign digital currency for the eurozone. The draft rule, seen by Bloomberg, tasks the European Central Bank with setting limits on its use without proposing specific thresholds on transactions or holdings. But there could be trouble brewing for the EU’s plans: Major banks fear that savers may opt for digital euro holdings rather than traditional accounts, and privacy advocates have bemoaned risks to payments anonymity. Others, meanwhile, are trying to figure out why the bloc needs its own digital currency.