ECB's Wild Card: Digital Euro Prototype Awaits 'Dedicated Decision' In Late 2023

The European Central Bank (ECB) is finalizing prototypes for a digital euro.

The ECB enlisted input from various industry participants to affirm the technical potential and the availability of European providers for developing digital euro solutions.

This exploration signifies a variety of architectural and technological possibilities for the digital euro.

Also Read: Hong Kong Is The Unquestioned Crypto King, With The US And Switzerland Following Close Behind

From July 2022 to February 2023, the ECB tested several use cases for the digital euro. The exercise incorporated five user interfaces developed by different providers, along with a settlement system developed by the Eurosystem.

The study concluded that the digital euro could be smoothly integrated into the existing payment landscape, allowing market innovation with its distribution.

Furthermore, the digital euro can function both online and offline. The feasibility of an offline solution fulfilling the Eurosystem's requirements on a large scale remains uncertain with current technology.

Notably, these prototypes were developed solely for research, and no personal data was processed during the exercise.

The digital euro project, launched in October 2021, awaits a decision from the ECB's Governing Council in autumn 2023.

The council will decide whether to proceed with a preparation phase for developing and testing the digital euro. However, it doesn't automatically guarantee the issuance of a digital euro, which will be a dedicated decision at a later stage.

The ECB continues to interact with stakeholders and market participants to ensure the digital euro meets users' needs. The findings are expected to contribute to the project's investigation phase and potential next steps.

Next: Mega Mansions Bought With Bitcoin - How Crypto Barons Are Reshaping Real Estate

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay