CBDC Shock in Europe: Will the Digital Euro already be introduced in October 2025?

A surprising recent remark by Christine Lagarde raised October 2025 as target date. But what does it really mean? How should we react?

Frankfurt. 11 March 2025. Rumours have it that the ECB will introduce the Digital Euro in October 2025. Fortunately, this is not quite true. But what will happen in October 2025? Has the digital prison arrived? And what do we need to do now?

These rumours started with a Q&A session of ECB head Lagarde at a press conference by the ECB on 6 March 2025 in Frankfurt. The statement that triggered this rumour in recent days was in response to a question from a journalist.

Lagarde was asked the following question:

“…my second question is on the digital euro, because the Trump administration decided to stop the Federal Reserve’s project on central bank digital currency, and it looks like the Fed might be on hold on the digital dollar for about four years. So it looks like a kind of a golden opportunity for the ECB and the plans of the digital euro. What is the position of the ECB on these issues with these changes also from the United States, and how can the ECB push forward with the creation of a digital euro?”

She said in response: