The long road began back in the sixties, when changes in the fixed rates of the Bretton Woods system altered the exchange rates within the Community as well. It was then that initial ideas of a common European currency came up in the Commission.
Innovations that remove friction in the system, but also reduce transaction costs and information asymmetries are encouraging but, as regulators, we should be mindful of the risks and social costs. A FATF report6 highlights some of the risks when virtual currency is exchanged for real currency. These include money-laundering and terrorism financing.