ECB defends digital euro privacy as CBDCs face global scrutiny
The ECB says the planned digital euro is designed to protect user privacy by limiting transaction data visible to the central bank. ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said the Eurosystem would not be able to identify senders or recipients, while only the banks handling payments could access user identities for anti-money-laundering checks. For offline payments, details would be known only to the payer and payee. The project still faces criticism from lawmakers, privacy advocates, and crypto supporters who warn that CBDCs could enable more financial surveillance. In the US, federal CBDC development has been blocked by executive order, and Congress is considering a similar ban. The ECB also frames the digital euro as a tool for payment sovereignty, reducing Europe’s dependence on non-European card and payment networks. The ECB says issuance could begin as early as 2029 if legislation passes and technical work is completed.
