This report presents progress made during the investigation phase of the digital euro project and elaborates on the foundational design options that were recently endorsed by the Governing Council.
As regards the design of the transfer mechanism used to validate transactions, the Eurosystem will further explore a digital euro solution, in which transactions would be made online and would be validated by a third party, as well as a peer-to-peer validated solution for offline payments.
The Eurosystem will explore options that could allow a digital euro to replicate some cash-like features and enable greater privacy for low-value transactions.
In general, a number of further steps would need to be taken before a digital euro could be introduced. In the first quarter of 2023, the European Commission will propose a regulation to establish the digital euro, which is expected to help achieve the digital euro objectives.
The Eurosystem will continue to actively engage with a large number of stakeholders, including European policymakers, throughout the remainder of the investigation phase.
In October 2023 the Governing Council could decide to start a realisation phase to develop and test technical solutions and business arrangements for a digital euro.
