peekpublishersTLDR:
– The European Central Bank (ECB) has announced plans to award over a billion euros in contracts to private sector partners to develop a digital euro.
– The ECB’s procurement includes initiatives for the development of an offline solution, which is crucial for a mass-market digital currency alternative to physical cash.
– The increasing interest of central banks in central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) suggests that CBDCs are becoming inevitable.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has started the year by announcing its plans to award contracts worth over a billion euros to private sector partners for the development of a digital euro. The procurement will include initiatives to create an offline solution for the digital currency, which is crucial for it to become a mass-market alternative to physical cash. The move by the ECB is indicative of the growing interest among central banks in central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), suggesting that CBDCs are becoming increasingly inevitable.
