ECB News

An ECB working paper found DeFi governance remains highly concentrated, complicating efforts to identify who should fall under MiCA oversight.

The ECB’s Piero Cipollone said the central bank wants key technical standards for a possible digital euro locked in by this summer so banks and merchants can prepare for the rollout.

ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said private digital money cannot scale Europe’s tokenized markets on its own, pointing to Pontes and broader legal reform as next steps.

The initiative targets how a digital euro would operate across existing payment rails, with emphasis on offline transactions and interoperability.

The European Central Bank has launched Appia to guide Europe’s tokenized financial ecosystem anchored in central bank money, with early Pontes pilots planned for 2026.

The European Central Bank warns in a new working paper that as stablecoin adoption grows, deposits may leave banks, affecting lending and monetary policy transmission.

ECB president Christine Lagarde is a crypto skeptic, but her likely successors are no more enthusiastic about cryptocurrencies.

The ECB is set to begin selecting EU-licensed payment providers for its digital euro pilot this quarter, with the 12-month pilot set to kick off in the second half of 2027.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is reportedly weighing an early exit from the bank just as the EU enters a crucial phase for the digital euro.

European lawmakers endorsed the ECB’s digital euro plans as a way to shore up the bloc’s monetary sovereignty, while reiterating that the central bank must remain independent.

Banks warn stablecoins could siphon deposits from the banking system, but policy and regulatory experts say there’s little evidence of it happening yet.

European Central Bank executive Piero Cipollone has argued that rising geopolitical tensions make a European-controlled payments system a strategic necessity.

Economists urge EU lawmakers to back a public digital euro, warning that private stablecoins and foreign payment companies threaten Europe’s monetary sovereignty.

Experts say the digital euro’s outcome hinges on a political compromise with parties fighting for the limits of privacy and online functionality.

The Council of the European Union endorsed the launch of the European Central Bank’s digital euro in both an online and a privacy-focused offline version.