The European Central Bank (ECB) will begin developing a plan for launching the digital euro in mid-2021, said Holger Neyhaus, head of the regulator’s Market Innovations and Integration Division. Cointelegraph reports.
At the Singapore FinTech Festival 2020, an ECB representative emphasised that this is a phase of theoretical discussion, not concrete steps toward issuing the asset. In his words, the European regulator intends to assess the feasibility of implementing a digital currency.
“This would allow us to determine what the digital euro is, how it could look and be implemented, when a political decision is made,” Neyhaus noted.
At present the regulator sees problems with using central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) abroad. Of particular concern to the ECB are questions related to the regulation of capital movements, the head of the bank’s division added.
Neyhaus also reminded audiences of the regulator’s stance on CBDC’s potential future status—the regulator views the new asset as merely an addition to cash.
Earlier, Lagarde said that the EU’s sovereign currency will remain at the core of its payment system.
In November, the regulator’s head said there was no rush to launch the CBDC — could take from two to four years.
Subscribe to ForkLog news on Facebook!