Europe is on the verge of a fundamental change in how money works.
The Digital Euro task (CBDC), developed by the European Central Bank (ECB), aims to introduce the digital currency of the central bank in parallel with cash and conventional bank money.
Loss of control
Officially, CBDC is simply a consequence to digitalisation of payments and expanding competition from private financial systems. In fact, the task raises fundamental questions about the financial freedom of citizens, the function of the state in money control and the architecture of the banking system. Fabio Panetta, a associate of the Executive Board of the ECB, shall indicate: "The digital revolution questions the concept of money itself. If the central banks do not react, we hazard losing control of the monetary system”.
Digital euro – possible and threats
The CBDC is to be a public commitment of the central bank available to citizens and businesses. Its main advantages are fast and safe digital payments, reducing transaction costs in the economy, expanding EU monetary sovereignty towards global payment systems. However, the digital euro is programmable money, which means that all transactions can be traced, expenditure limits imposed and certain types of transactions blocked.
Marcel Fratzscher (DIW Berlin) observes: "The badly designed digital euro can undermine assurance in the financial strategy and undermine its stability".
Cash simplification and implications for citizens
Across Europe, there are expanding restrictions on the usage of cash: cash transaction limits, card dominance, ATM withdrawals, promotion of digital wallets and mobile payments. The effect is that cash loses its function as a real measurement independent of the state, which increases the function of the digital euro.
Gold: silent safety pillar
Gold gains importance in terms of money digitization. It is simply a physical asset, digitally unregulated, resistant to administrative decisions and a "trust anchor" in unstable financial systems. The Bundesbank repatriated over 3,300 tons of gold. Gold in Germany is seen as a safeguard against inflation and excessive state control. De Nederlandsche Bank identifies gold as a ‘trust anchor’ and maintains its reserves despite the progressive digitisation of payments. Belgium has limited reserves of gold. They mainly function as a buffer in the event of a systemic crisis. London remains a global gold trade center. The Bank of England develops a digital pound, but gold maintains its function as unchangeable reserve assets.
Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank – the function of commercial banks in Germany
Deutsche Bank plays a key function in the global financial system, but its past is not free from controversy: LIBOR / EURIBOR manipulations (2012-2015), penalties from CFTC and FCA (CFTC, 2015), speculation on natural materials and food markets (2008-2013), including index funds for cereals and metals. Christian Sewing, president Deutsche Bank states that "central bank digital currencies can strengthen the stableness of the financial strategy if decently integrated into the banking sector".
Commercial
Commerzbank focuses on financing SMEs and abroad trade. Dr. Jörg Krämer (Commerzbank Research) emphasises: "Digital euro must be designed so as not to compete straight with deposits in commercial banks". The Bank besides develops digital financial products and digital asset management in regulated infrastructure.
Russia and the BRICS countries: alternate monetary logic
The BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) make their own CBDCs and increase gold reserves, which aim to become independent of the dollar, defend against global sanctions, increase financial sovereignty in global trade.
Russia introduced a digital ruble and China a digital yuan, integrating them into global transaction systems with BRICS. This strategy shows that digital money and gold can coexist as safety tools.
An open question about financial freedom
The digital euro and the simplification of cash rise fundamental questions. Is the citizen inactive in control of his own money? Does digitalisation and centralisation not lead to a form of surveillance and surveillance? Where does financial freedom end and state control begin?
George Orwell In 1984 observed: “Everyone who controls the present controls the past. Everyone who controls the past controls the future”. In the context of digital money, the question remains open: are we entering a fresh era of stableness and innovation, or financial dictatorship and complete surveillance?
Matthäus Golla
Literature:
– ECB periodicals and reports:ECB economical Bulletin, 2023–2025, chapters on CBDC and financial stability;
– Financial stableness Review, 2023 (ECB).
German expert sources:
— Bundesbank, Monatsbericht, 2025 (Bundesbank);
– DIW Berlin, studies by Marcel Fratzscher, 2024;
– ‘Handelsblatt’, articles on the banking sector and CBDC, 2023–2025;
– CBDC Stress Test in a Dual-Currency Setting, arXiv, 2025 (arxiv.org).
Banks and History:
– Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank – yearly reports 2023–2025, Board positions;
— CFTC, FCA — fines and penalties LIBOR/EURIBOR, 2012-2015;
