I remember when people laughed at the idea of digital cash. “Why fix what isn’t broken?” they said. Now cash is quietly disappearing, wallets are turning into apps, and central banks are racing to keep up.
That’s where Europe is today.
The European Central Bank says the tech work for a digital euro is done. Finished. Wrapped. Now it’s sitting on lawmakers’ desks, waiting for a green light. ECB President Christine Lagarde confirmed this at the bank’s final press conference of the year. The review process is now in the hands of the European Council and the European Parliament.
In simple terms, the ECB has built the engine. Politicians now decide whether the car gets on the road.
Lagarde made it clear the central bank has done its part. The proposal is ready. What happens next depends on whether European lawmakers agree on the rules, safeguards, and legal framework needed to turn the digital euro into actual law. The focus has shifted from code to politics.
The idea itself is pretty straightforward. The digital euro would be public money, issued by the central bank, with legal tender status, just like cash. Anyone could use it. No bank account required. No private company controlling it. The goal is stability, privacy, and inclusion, while upgrading Europe’s aging payments system.
This isn’t another stablecoin.
A retail CBDC is different. It’s a direct claim on the central bank, fully backed by the state. No reserves to question. No issuer risk. Lagarde says the aim is to make sure that in a digital-first world, there’s still a solid anchor holding the financial system in place.
Geopolitics is part of this story too. ECB board member Piero Cipollone warned earlier this year that Europe can’t ignore what’s happening in the U.S. The Trump administration has been shaping a stablecoin-friendly policy designed to strengthen the dollar’s global role.
That has made European officials more nervous about relying on foreign or private payment systems.
At the same time, global institutions are raising flags. The IMF recently warned that privately issued digital money, including stablecoins, could weaken domestic monetary control and threaten financial stability. That warning landed right as Europe was debating timelines for pilots and a potential launch later this decade.
Across the Atlantic, the situation looks very different. Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law in July, while also making his opposition to CBDCs crystal clear. An executive order signed in January blocks U.S. federal agencies from issuing or promoting a digital dollar. For now, America’s CBDC experiment is frozen.
Europe started talking seriously about a digital euro back in 2021. The fear back then was simple. If central banks do nothing while cash fades away, money itself could end up controlled by private companies or foreign systems. Since then, policymakers have explored how a digital euro might coexist with public blockchains like Ethereum and Solana, rather than compete with them.
The tech is ready. The debate isn’t about “if” anymore.
It’s about whether Europe wants to press the button before someone else does.
