The European Central Bank published its closing report on the Eurosystem’s two-year preparation phase for a digital euro and confirmed that the project will move into a next phase to build the technical capacity needed ahead of any possible issuance. The ECB reiterates that a Governing Council decision on whether to issue a digital euro, and when, will only be taken after the relevant EU legislation is adopted. During the preparation phase, the ECB developed a more comprehensive draft digital euro scheme rulebook for payment service providers, with a four-month market consultation running to the end of October 2025 and further work planned on implementation specifications and a roll-out plan for functionality. The ECB also completed procurement for five externally provided platform components through framework agreements that do not yet entail financial commitments, and selected six Eurosystem national central banks to provide core components such as clearing and settlement and issuance; experimentation via an innovation platform tested features including conditional payments. Technical work advanced on offline functionality designed to support payments without connectivity via cryptographically secure tokens and enhanced privacy, as well as on system architecture, cybersecurity and a methodology for calibrating holding limits; in a technical response to co-legislators, the ECB found hypothetical holding limits in the range of EUR 500 to EUR 3,000 per person would be manageable for financial stability even under a highly unlikely stress scenario. The report also provides cost estimates of around EUR 1.3 billion in total development costs until a first issuance and approximately EUR 320 million in annual operating costs from 2029, alongside an ECB assessment that banking-sector investment could range from EUR 4 billion to EUR 5.8 billion. The next phase will focus on advancing technical readiness (including piloting), deepening market engagement and supporting the legislative process in a modular way to limit financial commitments. The ECB’s planning assumption is that co-legislators adopt the digital euro Regulation during 2026, enabling potential first issuance during 2029, with a pilot exercise and initial transactions potentially starting as soon as mid-2027.
European Central Bank 2025-10-30
European Central Bank concludes digital euro preparation phase and moves project to next phase targeting potential issuance in 2029
The European Central Bank (ECB) concluded the Eurosystem’s two-year preparation for a digital euro, confirming the project will advance to build technical capacity. The ECB developed a draft digital euro scheme rulebook and completed procurement for platform components, with six national central banks selected for core functions. The next phase will focus on technical readiness, market engagement, and legislative support, with potential issuance in 2029 following regulatory adoption in 2026.