Today the European Central Bank (ECB) announced the initial results of its Digital Euro public consultation, which started in October and ended yesterday. It received 8,221 responses from individuals and companies. Privacy was the number one requested feature (41%), followed by security (17%) and pan-European reach (10%).
Privacy for central bank digital currency (CBDC) is not an entirely simple topic. While some may desire the same anonymity as cash, that’s unlikely. However, sharing data with the government for AML or tax surveillance and sharing your transactions with businesses are two different things. And based on a BIS report, the latter is also being considered by some other central banks.
The ECB plans to share detailed consultation results in the spring, and its CBDC paper published last year stated it would decide whether to formally create a central bank digital currency (CBDC) project by the middle of 2021. However, even if it takes that step, it will not yet involve a commitment to issue a digital euro.
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