European Parliamentary Research Service Blog
electronic money
The rise of e-commerce and the cashless society
Sales in the EU still predominantly take place offline – in bricks and mortar shops – and purchases are still predominantly made with cash. However, thanks to the level of convenience they offer, both online shopping and cashless electronic payments are booming and are among the key drivers of the digital transformation taking place in our economy and society. Continue reading
What if Libra disrupted the financial system? [Science and Technology podcast]
As of 2020, Facebook’s cryptocurrency project Libra promises to connect everybody to the global, digital world of banking. The introduction of a privately governed currency could fundamentally challenge the current EU financial framework, conflict with EU law and tax requirements, and violate consumer rights. Continue reading
Bitcoin: Market, economics and regulation
Bitcoin is a digital currency which started circulating in 2009. It was the first form of virtual money to become relatively popular. Bitcoin is public in nature as it maintains a log of all transactions. These are verified by its users in a process called mining. The extent of computing power and energy needed to … Continue reading
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