ECB president says EU will decide on digital euro in January 2021. Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, said that the bank should come to a decision on launching a digital euro early next year.
In an online policy panel held on Nov. 12, Lagarde explained that the European Central Bank, was not “racing to be first” in its efforts to release a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. However, she said that the results of the consultation the central bank launched in October on a digital euro would be ready in January 2021.
“At that point in time we will make the decision as to whether or not we go forward with the digital euro,” stated Lagarde. “My hunch — but this is a decision that will be taken collectively — is that we might well go in that direction.”
Lagarde said the bank still had to address concerns when it comes time to make a final decision on a CBDC. In particular, she said the ECB would consider anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism measures in addition to user privacy.
Lagarde used Facebook’s Libra token and China’s recent digital yuan trials as examples of how the central bank cannot rush a rollout, giving a rough estimate of the timeline should the ECB proceed “This is a project that will probably take us two, three, four years before it is launched.”
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey were also part of the panel. Powell reiterated his stance on a central bank digital currency. He stated that it was “critical that we get it right as opposed to trying to be the first.” The Bank of England governor advised the panel that people had the right to “expect certainty of value” in any currency.
[image: Markus Spiske]
