Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
The European Central Bank (ECB) is working on a digital version of the euro, a project started back in 2020 that is coming closer to fruition as the enabling EU legislation progresses. The ECB has designed a digital equivalent of cash, aimed at complementing physical euros for day-to-day payments. Its approach may be compared and contrasted with the US Federal Reserve’s reluctance to introduce a digital dollar and with the People’s Bank of China’s definition of the digital yuan largely as a bank deposit.
Has the ECB’s rationale for the digital euro evolved over time, from a response to tech challengers, such as Facebook’s Libra project in 2019, towards a more geoeconomic motivation of reducing critical dependency on non-EU payment service providers? What are the main features of the digital euro as currently considered? When will it be concretely introduced, and what are the risks and opportunities in Europe and globally?
HOST
Nicolas Véron
Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
GUEST
Piero Cipollone
Member of the Executive Board, European Central Bank
For more information, visit: piie.com/events/2026/implementing-digital-euro-project
Sign up to get notices of upcoming episodes of the “What Now, Europe?” podcast: clicks.piie.com/what-now-europe
Follow the Peterson Institute for International Economics on social media!
Twitter: twitter.com/piie
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/piie
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/piie.com
The European Central Bank (ECB) is working on a digital version of the euro, a project started back in 2020 that is coming closer to fruition as the enabling EU legislation progresses. The ECB has designed a digital equivalent of cash, aimed at complementing physical euros for day-to-day payments. Its approach may be compared and contrasted with the US Federal Reserve’s reluctance to introduce a digital dollar and with the People’s Bank of China’s definition of the digital yuan largely as a bank deposit.
Has the ECB’s rationale for the digital euro evolved over time, from a response to tech challengers, such as Facebook’s Libra project in 2019, towards a more geoeconomic motivation of reducing critical dependency on non-EU payment service providers? What are the main features of the digital euro as currently considered? When will it be concretely introduced, and what are the risks and opportunities in Europe and globally?
HOST
Nicolas Véron
Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
GUEST
Piero Cipollone
Member of the Executive Board, European Central Bank
For more information, visit: piie.com/events/2026/implementing-digital-euro-project
Sign up to get notices of upcoming episodes of the “What Now, Europe?” podcast: clicks.piie.com/what-now-europe
Follow the Peterson Institute for International Economics on social media!
Twitter: twitter.com/piie
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/piie
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/piie.com
