The European Central Bank is moving forward with the digital euro, following a roadmap toward its debut in the European market.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has outlined a timetable for the launch of the digital euro, with 2029 as the realistic horizon for its official rollout. The announcement came from Executive Board member Piero Cipollone, who highlighted the progress made in the project during a Bloomberg Future of Finance event held in Frankfurt.
Cipollone emphasized that last week marked an “important milestone” for the digital euro, thanks to an agreement reached by euro area finance ministers on holding limits for citizens.
“The discussion at the level of member-states is going very well,” Cipollone said, adding that “mid-2029 could be a fair assessment” for the debut of the European CBDC.
According to the ECB, the initiative primarily aims to reduce dependence on private payment giants like Visa and PayPal. Another objective of the Eurotower is to prevent dollar-pegged stablecoins from becoming the de facto standard for everyday digital payments in Europe.
Legislative hurdles
Despite technical progress, legislation remains the main obstacle for the digital euro’s implementation. The European Parliament must approve the legal framework for the project, and Cipollone outlined a precise roadmap for the coming months.
After the progress report on October 24, legislators will have six weeks to propose amendments, followed by five months of negotiations.
“By beginning of May, we should have a position also of the parliament,” Cipollone explained, while member states are working in parallel to reach a “general approach” by the end of the year.
Technological choices for the digital euro remain open, with officials considering the possibility of building on public blockchains such as Ethereum or Solana. This option would represent a shift from the initial thinking, which favored a private ledger managed by the Eurosystem.
