Experts invited to join technical talks on digital euro

17 March 2022

The ECB is inviting technology experts to take part in online technical talks to explore options for the design of a central bank digital currency.

The talks will focus on settlement validation and transaction recording, which can be implemented in several ways to achieve geographical distribution of data centres and clarity on amounts held by users. In this context, the talks will also aim to explore the ways in which large transaction volumes can be processed under specific constraints and assuming different trust models.

The talks will be held at expert level as closed sessions with members of the ECB’s digital euro project team. Each talk will comprise a presentation lasting approximately 20 minutes, followed by around 25 minutes for questions and answers.

To take part, please email DigitalEuro@ecb.europa.eu by 31 March 2022, stating which topic you wish to address and describing, in no more than 500 words, the technical problems envisaged and solutions you would like to put forward. We will assess your application for its relevance to the topics listed above, its practical potential within a widely-used retail payments solution and the novelty of its approach.

Background to the technical talks

On 1 October 2021 the ECB launched an investigation phase to consider what a digital euro might look like. During this phase, which is expected to take two years, we will look at how a digital euro could be designed and distributed to retailers and the public. After the investigation phase concludes, the Eurosystem will decide whether to start developing a digital euro.