Majority of Europeans want their countries to regulate crypto, not the EU

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A majority of Europeans want their own governments to regulate cryptocurrency, while a growing number also support the creation of national digital currencies to assert some monetary independence from the European Union, a poll found. history for Euronews.

It also found that the majority of respondents in each country would prefer their own government to determine financial regulations, compared to around a quarter overall who favor the EU in making those decisions.

The large-scale poll conducted exclusively for Euronews by Redfield & Wilton Strategies is the largest of its kind conducted in Europe on the topic of cryptocurrency and financial regulation.

The poll was carried out between 4 and 10 August and assessed the opinions of 31,000 respondents in 12 EU Member States: Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands , Poland, Portugal and Spain.

Get away from cash

The results come as the European Commission begins to consider new legislation in September to create a new EU-wide regulatory framework for crypto assets.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been marked by increased EU attention to the financial health of the euro area, including the approval of an unprecedented COVID-19 stimulus fund totaling 750 billion euros in June.

It has also seen a significant shift from cash to digital options, a trend that banking institutions like the European Central Bank (ECB) are watching closely.

There was, however, a major disagreement on the influence the ECB should have in the economies of member states.

Main conclusions

A significant proportion of citizens in Greece (61 percent), Germany (34 percent) and Latvia (31 percent) believed that the EU and the ECB intervened too much in their country’s economy.

“The long hangover from the euro crisis ten years ago is still being felt in countries like Greece and Italy,” Dimitar Lilkov, research fellow at the Study Center, told Euronews Next European Wilfried Martens in Brussels.

“A large part of the population is still convinced that the crisis arose because of bad decisions at EU level and not because of serious shortcomings in their national banking sector, soaring public debt and financial markets. unreformed work “.

Respondents in Lithuania (41 percent), Spain (39 percent), Portugal (36 percent) and Estonia (36 percent) said the ECB intervened “the right amount”.

On the question of who should be in charge of financial regulation, a majority of respondents (from 49 percent in Hungary to 76 percent in the Netherlands) felt that it should be the responsibility of their national government, as opposed to to that of the EU.

There was no clear preference for EU-led financial regulation in any of the countries studied, but as Lilkov points out, financial matters are usually decided in capitals across Europe and not in Brussels.

“Although the euro area is a monetary union, there is no fiscal union in place. European countries coordinate on fiscal policy (deficits, debt) but final decisions on fiscal matters (that is, ie national budget, financial priorities) are determined by national governments, ”he said.

Crypto regulation in Europe

The idea of ​​creating a national electronic money specifically to assert monetary independence from the EU has elicited mixed reactions although a plurality of respondents are in favor to some extent.

Those from Italy (41%), Greece (40%), Estonia (39%) and Spain (37%) recorded the highest support for the initiative, while the Netherlands were the only country where there was more opposition than in favor (37 percent).

In Germany, there was no agreement on the issue with 30 percent indicating they would support it while 30 percent opposed.

More than a quarter of participants at all levels would neither support nor oppose such a decision.

Initiatives to consider digital currencies – which unlike decentralized cryptocurrencies are backed by a central bank – are mushrooming around the world with countries like China, the United States and Britain all exploring the possibility of create a virtual version of their fiat (physical) currency.

In Europe, the ECB announced in July that it was actively considering launching a digital euro, or “e-euro”, while in Sweden, a non-euro EU member state, a pilot project for a krona electronics is already in progress.

But for countries that use the euro, joining the single currency could put an end to any national e-money project, Lilkov said.

“Eurozone countries wishing to use a digital currency would be linked to a potential digital euro, managed by the ECB in coordination with the eurozone banking system,” he said.

“For a country like Greece or the Netherlands, opting for a national digital currency different from the euro (a hypothetical e-drachma or e-Guilder) would be tantamount to seceding from the euro zone. This will not happen. not”.

Non-eurozone members of the EU, on the other hand, would be relatively free to explore potential digital national currencies, Lilkov added.

Limited knowledge of cryptography

The poll also shows that most Europeans have heard “only a little” about cryptocurrencies. A lack of knowledge is cited as the main reason why they avoid buying them.

The minority of people who own a cryptocurrency do so for the sake of high returns and for the sake of self-interest. Bitcoin is also by far the most well-known cryptocurrency, according to the survey.

As with financial regulation, when it comes to regulating cryptocurrencies, a majority or a plurality of citizens in Greece (51 percent), Italy (47 percent), Estonia (46 percent), the Netherlands (41 percent), Germany (40 percent), Latvia (39 percent) and France (37 percent) said they would prefer their own government to regulate cryptocurrencies.

While the use of cryptos remains low in the EU, according to the survey, their growing popularity raises the question of regulation, how it is carried out and by whom.

In an analysis of the poll for Euronews Next published on Wednesday, Louisa Idel, Head of European Insights at Redfield & Wilton Strategies, believes these questions will prove to be controversial.

“In essence, regulators around the world are faced with two options: tightly controlling and centralizing the future direction of crypto assets, for example through the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), or adopting a legal framework. and open regulatory that allows stable coins, especially those linked to multiple currencies to function properly, ”she wrote.

“If the EU takes the first approach of creating a CBDC, it is unlikely to win.”

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