The European Central Bank (ECB) has announced a major step towards the launch of its sovereign digital currency goals by approving an investigation phase. The investigation phase would be 2 years long and focus on researching various aspects of a central bank-issued digital currency.
“We have decided to launch a project to prepare for possibly issuing a digital euro. We will look at how a digital euro could be designed and distributed to everyone in the euro area, as well as the impact it would have.” The bank said in a statement to the press.
Christine Lagarde, the president of the ECB who is also known for her passive stance on Bitcoin said the end of the investigation phase could possibly lead to the launch of Digital Euro.
“We have decided to move up a gear and start the investigation phase of the digital euro project. In the digital age, people and firms should continue to have access to the safest form of money – central bank money.” Lagarde said in a Tweet.
The ECB in its official statement said that they are focusing on privacy and being environmentally friendly. It claimed the carbon footprint of the Digital Euro would be negligible when compared to Bitcoin.
Our experimental work has already allowed us to identify possible ways to protect privacy. It has also shown that the energy needs of the infrastructure would be negligible compared with the energy consumption and environmental footprint of crypto-assets, such as bitcoin.
Central Banks around the globe have accelerated their CBDC plans over the past couple of months, looking at China’s testing phase nearing its end. China had completed the development of its CBDC or digital yuan by the third quarter of 2019 itself and for nearly two years now, it is being widely tested across various provinces.
Yesterday, UAE Central Bank also announced its plans foe CBDC development putting it at top of its agenda in the upcoming three-year roadmap from 2023-26.
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