Do Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) Protect the Consumer or Are They a Chimera?

in Consumer Protection in the European Union: Challenges and Opportunities, Director & Coordinator: Santaolalla Montoya, C., European Commission Publishing, 2023, pp. 199-211, ISBN 978-92-76-62083-9.

16 Pages Posted: 6 Mar 2023 Last revised: 25 Mar 2024

See all articles by Cayetana Santaolalla

Cayetana Santaolalla

Public University of Navarra (UPNA); European Law Institute (ELI); European Association of Private International Law (EAPIL)

Date Written: January 15, 2023

Abstract

Consumers are using cash less and less, and the use of private money, through companies such as Visa, Mastercard or Paypal, is increasing considerably. On the one hand, cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, were created in 2008, and on the other hand, private digital currencies backed by large technology companies are coming onto the market. And right now, feasibility projects for digital currencies are being studied by central banks. Indeed, consumers seem not to distinguish between private and public digital currencies, while giving up their privacy, despite the adoption of the European Data Protection Regulation in Europe.

Do CBDCs protect the consumer or are they a mirage? Can these digital currencies, with their centralization, represent a monopoly? Is controlling money a way of controlling the market, and suppressing the freedom of the individual? This article aims to answer these questions.

Keywords: CBDC, centralization, consumer, monopoly, bitcoin, GDPR

JEL Classification: K33

Suggested Citation

Santaolalla, Cayetana, Do Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) Protect the Consumer or Are They a Chimera? (January 15, 2023). in Consumer Protection in the European Union: Challenges and Opportunities, Director & Coordinator: Santaolalla Montoya, C., European Commission Publishing, 2023, pp. 199-211, ISBN 978-92-76-62083-9. , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4371075

Cayetana Santaolalla (Contact Author)

Public University of Navarra (UPNA) ( email )

Campus Arrosadía
Pamplona, Navarra 31006
Spain

HOME PAGE: http://www.unavarra.es/

European Law Institute (ELI) ( email )

Schottenring 16, Top 175
Vienna, 1010
Austria

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.europeanlawinstitute.eu

European Association of Private International Law (EAPIL) ( email )

4 Rue Alphonse Weicker
Luxembourg

HOME PAGE: http://https://eapil.org/

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