ECB Plans DLT Settlement in Central Bank Money From 2026 as Digital Euro Privacy Concerns Grow

In a statement on December 19, 2025, European Central Bank executive board member Piero Cipollone said the ECB will enable distributed ledger technology transactions to settle in central bank money starting in 2026. The central bank has largely completed technical work on a potential digital euro and moved into a readiness phase, while political debate intensifies over privacy safeguards and legislative approval. Lawmakers in the EU are now negotiating the legal framework amid concerns that wider anti-money laundering and data retention rules could challenge promised privacy protections.