A representative of the Estonian government said on Monday that despite the rumors, the country does not intend to develop a national cryptocurrency. The spokeswoman denied recent news, which hinted that Estonia is about to launch Estcoin – a national cryptocurrency that was expected to go alongside the euro.
Triin Oppi, media adviser for Estonia's government, claimed that such plans never existed. However, it is true that the country was exploring blockchain use cases, including a crypto token to be used within the e-residency program, which provides digital IDs to anyone in the world.
In 2017, e-Residency’s managing director Kaspar Korjus proposed a digital currency called Estcoin, which could be released by the government. He said that the token could be distributed via an initial coin offering (ICO).
At that time, Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, reacted by saying that “no member state can introduce its own currency. The currency of the eurozone is the Euro.”
According to Oppi, the e-residency program had initiated talks on whether the government should come up with its own form of digital currency and they still plan to use Estcoin within the e-residency community. However, it doesn’t mean that the Estonian government will expand this idea at the national level.
She confirmed that Estonia was thinking about creating a legal framework for ICOs, something that Japan also plans.
She said in an email message to CNBC:
“We strongly believe in the potential of blockchain technology as a tool for economic development, empowerment and inclusion and we notice that several private and public institutions worldwide are also exploring its opportunities.”
“Estonia already has a vital start-up sector and we are looking for various initiatives to make it even stronger. One possible avenue is to explore possibilities to provide, within EU legislation, clear guidelines for companies that want to conduct ICOs legally and responsibly,” she added.
Even though Oppi claims that such plans never existed, it is true that the government was at least weighing the idea. At the beginning of this year, Estonia’s Prime Minister Juri Ratas expressed his willingness to consider the possibility of launching Estcoin.
This article appeared first on Cryptovest
