The European Central Bank (ECB) could issue a digital currency within four years if policymakers approve the project. This was stated by the bank’s head, Christine Lagarde, in an interview with Bloomberg.
“We must ensure that we do everything correctly — this is our duty to Europeans. The process — let’s be realistic — will take, in my view, another four years, perhaps a little longer,” she said.
In the near term, the ECB will publish an analysis of 8,000 responses, received as part of public consultations on the potential launch of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The document will be sent to the European Parliament.
In mid‑year the ECB Governing Council will decide on further practical experiments with the digital euro, Lagarde said. In her words, the decision to implement the CBDC will be taken within six months to a year after that.
“This is a technically audacious project, as well as a radical change. We need to be confident that we are not breaking any system, but improving it,” the ECB president said.
She reaffirmed her view that digital currency will not replace cash, but will supplement it.
She also intends to keep a close watch on the recently issued Bahamas CBDC called the Sand Dollar.
Earlier, the ECB proposed to set a cap on holdings of digital euros.