It became known when the euro token will appear on the market

on May 24, Frankfurt hosted a ceremony to mark the 25th anniversary of the European Central Bank. As part of the event, Fabio Panetta, a member of the regulator’s executive board, announced the approximate timeline for the launch of the digital euro.

According to him, 50 people are working on the EU CBDC project — the team is carefully studying not only the mechanism of digital currency integration but also the ways of distribution and promotion, design, and potential risks for the financial sector. It is expected that in June of this year, the ECB will present a draft law that will define the regulatory framework for CBDC. After that, the regulator will start a pilot testing phase. Panetta suggests that this will take 2−3 years.

Taking into account the announced deadlines, the likely period for the full launch of the project on the open market will be 3−4 years. This will happen if the testing of the digital currency is successful.

Panetta considers CBDC to be an important element in ensuring the stability of the financial system in the context of the digitalization of the economy. According to the official, the central bank’s currency should be its «core». At the same time, CBDC must also comply with the principles of protecting users' personal data. The official provided guarantees that the integration of AML (a document that guides countries in the implementation of cryptocurrency standards) and KYC into the digital euro will not affect user privacy.

As a reminder, retailers and wholesalers doing business in the euro area will have to accept the digital euro as payment for their goods and services. «This is necessary to increase the network effect and the potential impact on the distribution of the digital asset,» the Eurogroup secretariat said in a document presented to G-20 finance ministers in March.