Ecuador heralds digital currency plans (Update)

Ecuador is planning to create what it calls the world’s first digital currency issued by a central bank, which some analysts believe could be a first step toward abandoning the country’s existing currency, the U. S. dollar.
The electronic money, which Central Bank officials say they expect will start circulating in December, does not have a name and officials would not disclose technical details, though they said it would not be a crypto-currency like Bitcoin. The amount of the new currency created would depend on demand.
Deputy director Gustavo Solorzano said it is to exist in tandem with the greenback and, by law, be backed by “liquid assets.” It would be geared toward the 2.8 million Ecuadoreans – 40 percent of participants in the economy – too poor to afford traditional banking, officials say.

This post was published at Phys.Org on Aug 29, 2014.