ECB selects 36 participants for digital euro pilot

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ECB selects 36 participants

How the digital euro pilot will work

Participants will act as digital euro distributors, acquiring payment service providers or both. Distributors will give Eurosystem staff access to test accounts and payment services, while acquiring providers will help selected businesses accept payments in the beta version of the digital euro.

The ECB will use the beta version of the currency to test payment functions, operational processes and user experience. The central bank and 19 national central banks from across the euro area will take part in the pilot.

Eurosystem staff, online retailers, cafes, restaurants and other businesses will test person-to-person transfers and payments to merchants. Transactions will be carried out both online and offline, including at physical points of sale.

When the digital euro could launch

The pilot is intended to help the ECB refine the technical architecture of the digital euro before making a final decision on whether to issue it.According to the project roadmap, the central bank aims to be ready for a potential first issuance in 2029. This would require the relevant regulation to be adopted in 2026. The ECB will make a final decision only after the legislation is approved.

ECB Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel previously said that the digital euro is necessary to preserve the role of central bank money as stablecoins become more widespread.

She argued that CBDCs, together with strict regulation, should reduce risks to financial stability and Europe’s dependence on non-European payment providers. She also warned that dollar-denominated stablecoins could further strengthen the global dominance of the U.S. dollar.

Crypto community opposes CBDCs

The crypto community remains one of the most consistent opponents of CBDCs. Critics argue that such currencies could turn money into a tool of state control, as a technically centralized system could record payments, restrict certain transactions, freeze accounts or impose conditions on how funds are used. In an extreme scenario, digital money could be made programmable, for example by allowing it to be spent only on certain goods, within a specific region or before a set expiration date.

Such a model conflicts with core cryptocurrency principles, including financial autonomy, privacy and the right to control one’s own funds without constant oversight by an intermediary. Large-scale payment monitoring and the ability to administratively restrict how money is used raise privacy concerns and create the risk of abuse.

As previously reported, European Union lawmakers moved closer to introducing the digital euro last month by supporting a legal framework for both online and offline versions of the currency.

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