European Central Bank publishes second digital euro progress report, does not determine whether to use blockchain technology

The European Central Bank (ECB) publishes its second progress report on a digital euro, which describes the design and distribution options for a digital euro recently approved by its Governing Council. A timetable for the transition of the digital euro from investigation to realization in the third quarter of 2023. The report outlines the Eurosystem and the role of intermediaries, and establishes that the supervised intermediary will be responsible for all administrative and user-facing roles in the system, the central banks that make up the Eurosystem will verify and record transactions, correct errors in the process, and responsible for its accuracy. The report notes that the ECB is not committed to blockchain technology and that the Eurosystem has yet to make a decision on the technology most suitable for a digital euro.