The European Central Bank has given the green light for a multi-year project to create a digital version of the euro, or digital euro, the electronic equivalent of banknotes and coins.
"Our work aims to ensure that citizens and businesses in the digital age continue to have access to the safest form of money," European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said in a statement. Central bank money. The initial investigation phase lasts two years and focuses on the design of the digital euro, before a final decision is made on whether to move it forward.
The digital euro is likely to be a digital wallet that eurozone citizens can keep with the European Central Bank.
This is part of a drive by central banks to meet the growing demand for electronic payment methods, and address the boom in private sector cryptocurrencies from Bitcoin to Diem proposed by the company. Facebook.
The digital euro will be a method of payment that gives its holders a right to the European Central Bank - like banknotes and coins - but in digital form.
It is likely to resemble an online bank account or digital wallet with the European Central Bank, rather than in a commercial institution, Reuters reported.
This is a key difference because the European Central Bank cannot run out of the euro, making its digital currency intrinsically more secure than any of its private sector counterparts.
