Is the European Union really about to abolish cash? No, but pay attention to the details. The digital euro is advancing, and cash is becoming less central—this is a fact. The ECB assures us that cash won’t be eliminated, yet restrictions are tightening and electronic payments are taking over. So the real question is: how long will it take before cash becomes marginal?
Now, I’m the first to prefer digital payments—fast, convenient, secure. Cash is inconvenient, messy, easy to lose, and even easy to steal. But that’s not the point. The real issue is: how dangerous is this path? Today, Europe is pushing for the digital euro as an alternative, but what happens if cash becomes so hard to use that it essentially vanishes, even without an outright ban?
There’s one detail many overlook. The digital euro isn’t just a traditional electronic payment. Unlike cards and bank transfers, it doesn’t have to go through banks or intermediaries. It can work like digital cash, with direct wallet-to-wallet transfers—no permissions needed, and no one able to block or trace every transaction. And that’s where the crux lies. If it’s designed to be a truly free tool, it could easily replace cash. But if it ends up under centralized control with limits and restrictions, it’ll be a gilded cage.
Because the real risk isn’t digital money itself—it’s who sets the rules. If one day the digital euro comes with limits on where, how, and when we can spend it, or if it can be deactivated for “security” reasons, that’s a serious problem. Cash, for better or worse, can’t be switched off with a click.
So the question isn’t whether cash will disappear, but whether digital money can truly guarantee the same freedom. And on that, no one has yet given a convincing answer.
