ECB completes digital euro prototypes, decision on development pending

The European Central Bank (ECB), which is the central bank of the European Union, has released two reports on its market research and prototyping exercise as part of the investigation phase of its digital euro project.

The Eurosystem, which is made up of the ECB and the national central banks of EU countries that use the euro, has invited market participants to take part in the market research. This was to help them “understand the industry-specific knowledge and ongoing experience of building potential technical solutions for a digital euro.”

The research shows that there are enough European providers who can develop digital euro solutions. The report also suggests that different types of architectural and technological design options are available to build a technical solution for a digital euro,” according to the Frankfurt-based bank.

From July 2022 to February 2023, the ECB conducted a prototyping exercise to see what paying with a digital euro could be like for various use cases. The exercise included the integration of five user interfaces developed by several providers for each use case (front-end prototypes) and a settlement system that the Eurosystem designed and developed (back-end prototype).

The tests showed that it is possible to smoothly integrate a digital euro into the existing payment landscape while still allowing the market to use innovative features and technologies when distributing a digital euro. The findings also confirmed that a digital euro could work online and offline using different technical designs, according to the ECB.

However, the bank concluded that there remains the question of whether an offline solution that complies with the Eurosystem’s requirements and delivers the necessary scale can be delivered in the short to medium term with the existing tech.

Forthcoming decision

The EU launched its digital euro project in October 2021, and the ECB’s Governing Council is expected to decide in autumn 2023 whether to proceed with a preparation phase to develop and test the EU’s designed central bank digital currency (CBDC). “If the Governing Council opts to go ahead with a preparation phase, this does not necessarily mean that it will issue a digital euro. The Governing Council will take a dedicated decision on whether to issue a digital euro at a later stage,” according to the bank.

We will continue to update Phone&Auto; if you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us!

Share:

Was this article helpful?

93 out of 132 found this helpful

Discover more

Market

Ether.Fi will launch the ETHFI token on Binance Launchpool next week.

Liquid restaking protocols, such as Ether.Fi, utilize Ethereum's proof-of-stake blockchain to enhance the security of...

News

Justin Sun considers acquiring FTX's cryptocurrency holdings.

Justin Sun, the visionary Founder of Tron and esteemed Advisor to Huobi Global, has enthusiastically conveyed his str...

Policy

New name HTX raises eyebrows in Huobi community

Huobi is excitedly marking its impressive 10th anniversary by embarking on a bold marketing campaign – a rebranding i...

Finance

Justin Sun unstakes 20,000 ETH from Lido Finance. What's happening?

Justin Sun, the co-founder of Tron, has successfully transferred 20,000 Ethereum (ETH) from Lido Finance to Binance u...

BlockChain

DeFi Dilemma: Staking Ether Goes Liquid!

Fashion company Ether.fi secures $5.3 million in seed funding from North Island VC in March.

News

Shady Transactions Raise Eyebrows as $110 Million Evaporates from HECO Bridge and HTX Exchange – What in the Crypto World is Happening?

Recent blockchain breaches on the HECO bridge and HTX platform have been reported by security firms, resulting in an ...