ECB Official: Digital Euro Will Strengthen Europe's Payment Sovereignty, Pilot to Launch Next Year

October 25: According to Cointelegraph, European Central Bank Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said the digital euro is expected to help the EU build an autonomous and controllable payment infrastructure and reduce dependence on non-European third-party payment service providers. Europe has already recognized the risk of excessive reliance on external forces in key areas such as energy and defense, and the same applies to payments—but payment sovereignty does not mean excluding third parties; rather, it gives Europe the ability to make its own choices in key services.

The ECB plans to launch a digital euro pilot next year, testing with real transactions. It is currently preparing in cooperation with 36 market operators while inviting e-commerce and mobile commerce operators to participate.