Europe’s Digital Euro Faces Another Delay: 2029 Launch Now Expected

The European Central Bank’s digital euro project has encountered further delays, with a launch now anticipated around mid-2029. ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone revealed the revised timeline at the Bloomberg Future of Finance event in Frankfurt. Political hurdles, particularly within the European Parliament, remain the primary obstacle.

Progress at the member-state level shows promise. Euro-area finance ministers reached a compromise on customer holding limits in September 2024, injecting momentum into the long-stalled initiative. The ECB will decide in October 2025 whether to advance to the next development phase, with a final parliamentary position expected by May 2026.

The ECB’s preparatory phase continues, aiming for a 2028–2029 rollout. Cipollone noted growing political alignment across Europe, contrasting the region’s central bank-driven approach with America’s stablecoin-focused model. ECB President Christine Lagarde has openly praised China’s CBDC pilot as a blueprint for public service-oriented digital currency.