ECB Defends Digital Euro Privacy Amid Global Scrutiny
The European Central Bank (ECB) has defended the privacy design of its planned central bank digital currency (CBDC), which it claims will limit the amount of transaction information available to the central bank.
According to ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone, only banks involved in transactions would be able to identify users, including for anti-money laundering purposes, while the Eurosystem would not be able to directly link specific individuals to digital euro payments.
Cipollone noted that offline digital euro transactions would allow payment details to be available only to the payer and payee.
The ECB's efforts to quell privacy concerns come as lawmakers, privacy advocates, and crypto community members have warned that government-issued digital currencies could expand financial surveillance.