EU council endorses offline and online versions of digital euro

cointelegraphPublished on 2025-12-22Last updated on 2025-12-22

Abstract

The Council of the European Union has endorsed the European Central Bank’s design for a digital euro, supporting the simultaneous launch of both online and offline versions. A key feature is the offline digital euro, which aims to function like cash by allowing device-to-device transactions without internet connection and preventing user activity tracking. However, the system faces security challenges, such as vulnerability to relay attacks exploiting near-field communication (NFC). The European Data Protection Board has expressed concerns, noting that physical proximity—a core feature of cash—is difficult to enforce digitally. Both versions would store private keys in certified devices like smartphones or cards. ECB President Christine Lagarde emphasized that final approval depends on EU lawmakers.

The Council of the European Union (EU) the European Central Bank’s (ECB) digital euro design,

A Friday document outlined the council’s position on the digital euro, including alignment with the ECB on launching online and offline variants simultaneously

ECB President Christine Lagarde that t rest with EU lawmakers

“It's now for the European Council and certainly later on for the European Parliament to identify whether the Commission proposal is satisfactory, how it can be transformed into a piece of legislation or amended.”

The offline digital euro’s limitations

Documents reveal that a cash-like currency observers from linking multiple activities to the same user. The blueprint for the offline digital euro takes it up a notch by having transaction data never leave the direct participants.

The system is meant to allow authorized devices to transfer digital euro central-bank-signed tokens during in-person transactions.

tproximity requirement b. A relay attack an attacker places proxy devices near the receiving and sending devices to bridge the NFC signal over the internetwould be hard to avoi making some online non-proximity use by advanced users difficult to curtail.

An expert opinion piece by the European Data Protection Board admits that “the available countermeasures are very limited.” The document concludes that “we will not consider physical proximity as a property of cash that can be reliably enforced in a digital currency.”

Related: Crypto urges SEC to see the good in blockchain privacy tools

Private, but not like cash

The offline digital euroand the private keys used to manage would be stored in the secure elements of certified devicesmobile devices and smart cards

Related: SEC commissioner says crypto is ‘helping to nudge reassessment’ on privacy

Related Questions

QWhat did the Council of the European Union endorse regarding the digital euro?

AThe Council of the European Union endorsed the European Central Bank's digital euro design, including the simultaneous launch of both online and offline variants.

QWhat is a key privacy feature of the offline digital euro according to the document?

AThe offline digital euro is designed so that transaction data never leaves the direct participants, preventing observers from linking multiple activities to the same user.

QWhat technological requirement is essential for conducting an offline digital euro transaction?

AOffline digital euro transactions require physical proximity between devices, as they are designed to transfer central-bank-signed tokens during in-person transactions using technologies like NFC.

QWhat is a relay attack in the context of the offline digital euro?

AA relay attack is a security threat where an attacker places proxy devices near the sending and receiving devices to bridge the NFC signal over the internet, potentially bypassing the physical proximity requirement.

QHow does the European Data Protection Board view the enforcement of physical proximity as a property of digital currency?

AThe European Data Protection Board concluded that physical proximity cannot be reliably enforced in a digital currency, stating that the available countermeasures for such attacks are very limited.

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