Greece CBDC Tracker

Greece is currently in the research phase. The Bank of Greece appears most interested in CBDCs being used to combat the use of cryptocurrencies. Bank of Greece governor Yannis Stournaras said that the “creation of digital currency by Central Banks (CBDC) is… the answer to the unstable and dangerous to financial stability private sector cryptocurrencies[.]”

Note: This page is dedicated to the work done by the government in Greece. However, Greece is a member of the European Union and Eurozone. If the European Central Bank launches a CBDC (referred to as a digital euro), then this page will be changed to reflect that. Until then, the Eurozone page has notes about the development of the digital euro.

CBDC History and Development

Bank of Greece governor Yannis Stournaras delivered a speech in 2018 where he said, “Some issues are very challenging, including present emerging technologies in the field of finance and mushrooming cryptocurrencies. Addressing such issues presents a great opportunity for all interested to revisit the fundamental concepts surrounding money and how best to shape the monetary space in the future.” To that end, he explained that CBDCs may be the direction central banks soon go in. According to Bank of Greece deputy governor Christina Papakonstantinou, the Bank of Greece also “developed a prototype for a retail CBDC based on blockchain technology” in 2018.

In May 2020, the Bank of Greece and the Advisory Group on Market Infrastructures for Payments held an in-person meeting. Among the topics discussed was a briefing about cryptocurrencies and CBDCs.

In November 2020, the Bank of Greece and the Advisory Group on Market Infrastructures for Payments held a teleconference to discuss the Eurosystem’s stance on CBDC (among other things). The presentation delivered during the meeting said that a CBDC was needed because the use of cash is declining, young people prefer electronic payments, and consumers want security. (A brief recap of the meeting can be found here.)

Later in 2020, the Bank of Greece published an economic bulletin that contained an article on the digital euro titled “D-Euro: Issuing the Digital Trust.” The paper explains what a CBDC is and why a central bank might want one.

In March 2021, the Bank of Greece and the Advisory Group on Market Infrastructures for Payments held a meeting to discuss CBDCs further. The presentation described efforts to experiment with CBDCs and also consult the public.

The Bank of Greece’s April 2021 report on the previous year briefly mentioned CBDCs. The report said, “The rapid increase of electronic payments and the corresponding reduction in the use of cash (cashless economy), the development of crypto-currencies and other digital currencies, as well as the ever-increasing demand, mainly from younger ages, for fast, cheap and contactless payments through smart mobile phones (smartphones), tablets and other electronic devices, prompted central banks to consider the possibility of issuance of a [CBDC].”

In May 2022, Bank of Greece governor Yannis Stournaras delivered a speech on “The Bank of Greece as an Institution and as a Pillar of Monetary and Financial Stability.” Notably, he said, “[T]he creation of digital currency by Central Banks (CBDC) is the new challenge and the answer to the unstable and dangerous to financial stability private sector cryptocurrencies, along with of course the effective supervision of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.”

In August 2022, Bank of Greece deputy governor Christina Papakonstantinou said, “From the perspective of central banks, and in an era of rapidly evolving payments preferences and capabilities, there is an increasing need to act to secure the role of central bank money.” She went on to say that a CBDC is likely the way to secure that role as it would “preven[t] citizens and businesses from turning to other, potentially higher-risk solutions, such as crypto-assets and stablecoins.”

In October 2022, Bank of Greece governor Yannis Stournaras said, “[We] need to increase our own technological footprint and infrastructure capabilities. Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) have the potential to enable safe retail and wholesale payments with central bank money.”

The Bank of Greece’s November 2022 Financial Stability Review briefly mentioned CBDCs. The report said, “In order to respond to these challenges and to preserve the role of central bank money in an increasingly digital economy, several central banks around the world are exploring the issuance of central bank digital currencies (CBDC).”

Human Rights and Civil Liberties Concerns

Greece earned an 86 out of 100 in Freedom House’s 2023 Freedom in the World report. As Freedom House noted in the report, corruption remains a significant problem in Greece. With that said, it must be noted that the ability of the government to abuse a CBDC directly is debatable because the CBDC that would be used in Greece would be provided by the European Central Bank—representing the European Union.

Government corruption has been reported across several areas. For example, according to Freedom House, “Tax officials in past years have been implicated in tax evasion schemes, which seriously complicate the government’s fiscal reform efforts,” and there were “accusations that former digital governance minister Nikos Pappas had received bribes and rigged a television licensing competition.” Furthermore, even the former head of the corruption prosecutor’s office was investigated for an abuse of power. related to her failure to send a report to Parliament for further investigation. The existence of pervasive corruption is a major concern with CBDCs because it calls into question any promises that might be made by the government to limit surveillance, control, or other risks of CBDCs. Furthermore, the existence of corruption calls into question whether CBDC policies might be designed to exert political favoritism through subsidies, price controls, or other targeted restrictions.

For additional information on concerns regarding violations of human rights and civil liberties, see the following reports by Amnesty International, Financial Tyranny Index, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Privacy International, and the U.S. Department of State. For additional information on concerns regarding the risks of CBDCs, see the following webpage and report by the Cato Institute: The Risks of CBDCs and Central Bank Digital Currency: Assessing the Risks and Dispelling the Myths.

For additional information regarding metrics, the methodology page explains each of the data points and provides their respective sources.