ECB's Christine Lagarde is "prepared" for digital Euro as crypto interest rises

Christine Lagarde - the former Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund and the current President of the European Central Bank - invited public reactions and commentary on the topic of a potential Euro-backed digital currency via a Twitter post this weekend.

Lagarde's comments on the possible CBDC, short for Central Bank Digital Currency, was part of a broader post which described 2020 as a "Difficult year."

"[They] tell us whether they would be happy to use a digital Euro just in the way they use a Euro coin or a Euro banknote knowing that it is central bank money that is available and that they can rely upon," said Lagarde in the video.

We've started exploring the possibility of launching a digital euro.

As Europeans are increasingly turning to digital in the ways they spend, save and invest, we should be prepared to issue a digital euro, if needed.

"As Europeans are increasingly turning to digital in the ways they spend, save, and invest, we should be prepared to issue a digital euro, if needed."

Lagarde's comments on Sunday were part of a larger push for digital currencies.

Earlier this year, she noted the ECB was looking at the technology "Very seriously."

"We need to fully reap the potential gains from digital technologies and, at the same time, make sure labor markets remain inclusive," she said in September "If we don't, we risk creating a new divide, and we can already see gaps opening up when we look at differences in wages, education levels, and gender."

While that backdrop produced crypto as we know it today, this time it's banks and global governments jumping on the prospects of a digital currency - for better or worse.