ECB Picks COTI to Build Digital Euro—Because Nothing Says ’Innovation’ Like Bureaucrats Choosing Blockchain Partners

The European Central Bank just handed COTI the golden ticket—joining its digital euro pilot as a ’Pioneer Partner.’ Because when legacy finance needs distributed ledger cred, who better than a privacy-focused protocol?

COTI’s tech will likely handle privacy layers for the CBDC—proving even central bankers want anonymity when moving euros. The irony? A ’decentralized’ partner for their centralized digital currency.

Watch as TradFi adopts blockchain faster than it can regulate it. The digital euro might launch by 2030—right after MiCA 2.0 compliance strangles every other crypto project in the EU.

COTI, fastest Web3 privacy L2 on Ethereum, has announced a notable collaboration in the world of central bank digital currencies. As per COTI, it has been selected by the European Central Bank (ECB) as its pioneer partner under the Digital Euro project for the central bank digital currency CBDC product. Under this collaboration, COTI will be providing technological solutions for ECB’s to-be-launched CBDC which will be targeting a $15 trillion economy.

COTI Becomes European Central Bank’s Pioneer Collaborator in Digital EURO Program

The reports point out that COTI has now become a part of a prestigious team of partners for Digital Euro, the CBDC initiative of the European Central Bank. This group of collaborators takes into account the worldwide giants such as TATA, KPMG, and Accenture. This development takes place after COTI’s engagement with the Digital Shakel trials by the Bank of Israel. Hence, this move confirms the continued institutional interest in the privacy technology provided by COTI for CBDCs.

COTI’s CEO and co-founder, Shahaf Bar-Geffen, shared remarks about this opportunity

“Being invited to work with the ECB on such a consequential project is humbling, and a testament to the expertise and hard work of the COTI team. Privacy is a vital component for the future of Web3, ensuring user security and organizational compliance, and the same benefits apply to CBDCs. It’s critical that confidentiality is built into the CORE of these new systems, rather than merely being added as an afterthought.”

ECB to Launch Digital EURO by 2026’s Start

To release its Digital EURO, ECB is eyeing 2026’s beginning. In the meantime, it will reportedly seek to reach infrastructure providers. Its project delivers the opportunity for the members to get acquainted with the suggested Digital Euro interfaces. Then, the pioneers will operate together to show how a conditional system of payments could be executed on a technical scale.

The signature technology of COTI takes into account a privacy solution that leverages an on-chain execution of the Garbled Circuits of Soda Labs. It offers a fine solution for guaranteeing the real-world assets’ authenticity without disclosing the delicate information at any level. The platform will start utilizing simulated technical infrastructure to back Digital Euro. After successfully handling the Digital Shekel, this project is the 2nd initiative of COTI. In that program, COTI offered a proof-of-concept to deliver trustless transfers between diverse currencies and across borders through a decentralized marketplace.

Digital EURO Initiative Includes Banks, Fintech Firms, Tech Experts, Research Entities, and Universities

According to COTI, ECB is now establishing an innovative platform in partnership with stakeholders. They will take into account small and large merchants, banks, fintech entities, financial firms, universities, technical experts, and research institutions. The project would provide a digital form of money to complement the notes and coins. Moreover, it will also be private and secure, letting users pay across $15T euro-wide economy.