The European Central Bank is launching a research phase of its digital euro project that will reduce the use of cash.

It is presumed that the research phase will last two years, while the actual development of the digital euro will begin only after this stage is done.

Yesterday, Christine Lagarde said in a statement that it has already been 9 months since the ECB published a report on the digital euro. During this period, they conducted a survey of citizens, as well as professionals. They also managed to conduct several experiments with encouraging results. All this led to the decision to switch to the digital euro. She added that their job is to provide citizens and companies with access to a secure form of money in the period of digital technologies.

The ECB said that the purpose of the digital euro is not to replace cash but to supplement it.

The President of the ECB also said that they will continue to interact with the European Parliament and all European decision-making officials. They will be informed on a regular basis about their conclusions. It is also clear that the entire payment industry, ordinary citizens, and sellers will be involved.

The central bank added that after fulfilling this stage, the development of the digital currency itself may take another three years.

At the same time, ECB's Executive Member Fabio Panetta said that we live in the era of digital money. Digital money is now a response to changes in society and technology, while the role of cash as a means of payment is decreasing.

The research phase will include the study of functional design and the study of various use cases.

The general goal is to provide the population with risk-free access, as well as an effective form of digital money of the Central Bank.

Here, the issue of confidentiality and the impact on the markets will be analyzed.