Market News
Letter: Banknotes have characteristics a digital euro can never acquire - ft
Eswar Prasad argues that the advent of central bank digital currencies are inevitable (“Central banks bow to the inevitability of digital currencies”, Opinion, May 4). In the 21 years of the single currency’s existence, euro banknotes in circulation have increased sevenfold and currently stand at close to €1.6tn, growing at a compound rate of around 10 per cent. The comparable figure for the US dollar is 6.5 per cent, and the British pound 5.2 per cent. Euro coins show, in proportion, a similar profile. Criminals and tax evaders are unlikely to make extensive use of coins.
