ECB’s Christine Lagarde shifts focus to digital euro rollout after holding rates

Policy Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email ECB’s Christine Lagarde shifts focus to digital euro rollout after holding rates With technical and preparatory work complete, the ECB pressed lawmakers to move quickly on Europe’s public digital currency amid global stablecoin concerns. By Olivier Acuna | Edited by Nikhilesh De Dec 18, 2025, 6:22 p.m. ECB says technical work for the digital euro has been completed. What to know : The European Central Bank has completed its preparatory work on the digital euro, awaiting action from political institutions. ECB President Christine Lagarde emphasized a data-driven approach to interest rate decisions, with inflation projected to meet the 2% target by 2028. The digital euro is prioritized as a strategic financial tool, expected to launch in the second half of 2026. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said Thursday the central bank has completed its technical and preparatory work on the digital euro and that it is now up to political institutions to act. The project, which aims to create a public digital means of payment, is under review by the European Council and the European Parliament. Her remarks came during the ECB’s final press conference of the year, where policymakers left the eurozone’s key interest rates unchanged. Lagarde reaffirmed the ECB’s commitment to a meeting-by-meeting approach to rate decisions, saying they will be based on “incoming economic and financial data,” the inflation outlook, and how effectively policy is working. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the State of Crypto Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . “We are not pre-committing to a particular rate path,” Lagarde said, adding that inflation remains on track to return to the ECB’s 2% target by 2028. Revised projections show headline inflation averaging 2.1% in 2025 and dipping below target in 2026 and 2027 before rebounding to 2.0% in 2028. While monetary policy holds steady, Lagarde pointed to the digital euro as a strategic priority for Europe’s financial future. “Our ambition is to make sure that in the digital age there is a currency that is the anchor of stability for the financial system,” she said. The ECB also called on E.U. institutions to move quickly to adopt the digital euro regulation. ECB board member Piero Cipollone has also said a digital euro could ensure continuity of payments during cyberattacks or power outages that disrupt traditional banking infrastructure. The digital euro is expected to launch in the second half of 2026, aligning with the timeline of other euro-backed stablecoin initiatives regulated under Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets, or MiCA, regulation. ECB European Central Bank Christine Lagarde Digital Euro More For You Protocol Research: GoPlus Security By CoinDesk Research Nov 14, 2025 Commissioned by GoPlus What to know : As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M. GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month. 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