What if… EU had its own cryptocurrency?

Image by DreamStudio / stability.ai

It should be tied to the value of EUR. Let's call it cEUR.

Not for everyday transactions, in the ways we use EUR right now, but specifically for EU funding.

Blockchain makes currency non-fungible. That means you can trace when each cEUR changes ownership. In normal currency, a 20 EUR bill is interchangeable with any other 20 EUR bill. In blockchain, each cEUR is unique.

Let's imagine EU funding was done in cEUR. From central bank to member states to different agencies and institutions. And when that funding is used to pay salaries or purchase goods and services, it would be converted to our everyday normal EUR: cEUR would return to the central bank, and the matching amount of EUR would be paid to the recipient.

The increased traceability allowed by cEUR would make it more difficult for corrupt officials to pocket the money, or use it in unintended ways. It might also increase efficiency, as increase in transparency and traceability usually mean less (manual) control structures are needed.

Ps. I like pondering different "what if" scenarios from time to time. Maybe I will make it a habit to post these online. And hopefully people will tell me why I am wrong or what important aspect I didn't consider, so that I will end up smarter ;)

This particular one was inspired by the recent EU-Hungary events. I would be surprised if at least some of that 10b EUR funding didn't end up in the pocket of Orban and his cronies.