Municipal Digital Currencies Ready to Make Splash in Europe
Takeaways
- Only 1/4 of surveyed Europeans support the EU digital Euro
- Most are in favor of local cryptocurrencies, or Municipal Digital Currencies
- Up and running MDC’s like the Brixton Pound in the UK are a template for the shift
As you may know, Europe is a highly populated continent that contains many very, very small countries–some that many have never even heard of. Have you ever seen the the flag of Andorra or San Marino? I didn’t think so…Even more magnified, many Europeans derive pride from the city they are in, rather than the state, like in the US. Local pubs in small British cities have their own unique identity–maybe it only spans two-blocks–but its there, and there’s likely a football team that represents that small city, hence the pub. So it makes sense that a new survey of 31,000 citizens living in 12 different European union member states indicated their displeasure for sweeping EU regulation over crypto.
The survey found that “most Europeans support locally issued laws instead of a set of rules imposed by the European Union.” This kind of falls in line with the ethos of crypto–people would rather have things localized, and if possible, so localized that they themselves “hold their own keys” and have complete autonomy over their monies. This is where it gets interesting: “a surprisingly high number of citizens would prefer the issuance of local cryptocurrencies instead of a digital euro”. This makes perfect sense, why would you entrust the issuance of your digital currency to a small cohort of unelected bureaucrats like the movers and shakers in the EU? Citizens would rather than their own countries issue the crypto, and even more, their own cities.
Dimitar Lilkov, from the center for European Studies in Brussels said that countries who wish to do this would have to exit from the EU, of course. Because the EU dare not let these countries have any fiscal autonomy, and that says it all right there. Crypto is a way to get out from under the yolk of these centralized levers of power like the EU itself, and the rise of Municipal Digital Currencies (MDC’s) is only a natural outcome. “Most surveyed citizens lean towards independent cryptocurrency regulation in each country, compared to 25% that approve an EU-imposed regulation”. In a way, the EU’s push for a digital Euro will only expose the centralized nature of the EU, and could open the floodgates to MDC’s across Europe. I mean it only makes sense, and it has already been done in the UK.
In 2008 the Brixton Pound (Brixton, UK) was launched “in the face of the financial crisis”. The world’s first “complimentary local currency in a major urban area proved that money can stick to Brixton. It encouraged local trade, supported independent businesses and built a human-scale circular economy”. In January of 2021, they partnered with Algorand to support the development of a tokenized version of the Brixton pound–a Municipal Digital Currency. Project lead for Brixton pound said of the move: “This project hands the Brixton community the keys to drive its own local economy at a time when there has never been more need to move away from outdated centralised economic models.”
Brixton Pound Currency
It appears that most of the Europeans, 75% of those polled, want something similar, and in a compact continent like Europe with atomized cities, the Brixton Pound is a template for how specific communities around the world can create strong, vibrant, local, yet digital economies. The more crypto comes into the spotlight, the more you will see Municipal Digital Currencies cropping up in Europe, and this may have an impact on Euro hegemony, which will have its negative ramifications, but that’s what crypto is all about right? Decentralizing power.
Why should the dollar be the only fiat we can trade in the United States? I understand for practical purposes why it’s necessary, but a shift away from CBDC’s and an embrace of MDC’s would be welcomed, as most in crypto are skeptical of CBDC’s, seeing them as the Central Bank just grafting onto crypto to hijack it. Hopefully Europe will be be an example of throwing off the chains of the EU, and empowering communities and municipalities. The EU launched their pilot digital Euro in July, and it appears it may only weaken the bonds of the EU, rather than strengthening it. There may be laws that don’t allow for these local currencies in some of these EU countries, but if the chance is there, communities should rally their leaders towards such solutions.
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Text source: CryptosRus
