The Bank of Spain’s financial protection fund, or Banco de España, has reportedly approved a project from fintech money maker to test a euro-pegged token.
According to Jan. 18 Reports from news outlet Cinco Días In Spain, the Bank of Spain has given the go-ahead for Moneyi to release the EURM token as part of a testing phase expected to last between 6-12 months. The aim of the sandbox was to create a controlled testing environment for financial innovation projects in Spain under the supervision of the Central Bank authorities.
As part of the EURM testing phase, eligible Spanish residents with a phone number will be able to send the equivalent of €10 using the digital asset. The digital token will reportedly be backed 1:1 with physical euros held at Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria and Caixabank.
“The future of payments is digital. This is our chance to show the rest of Europe and the world that we are ahead,” said Alex Saez Verdager, CEO and Founder of Moneyi.
The Bank of Spain announced the launch of its “exclusive” wholesale central bank digital currency, or CBDC, program in December 2022. Although Project Monei is not a central bank digital currency issued by the European Central Bank, or ECB, Verdaguer said that it could be tested through Spain. The Central Bank may lay the foundation for such a token:
“[The Bank of Spain] He might sit down with the ECB and say we have the product, that it’s regulated and supervised and it shapes up from there.”
Related: Cosmos Euro stable project to relax after two years
The ECB announced in July 2021 that it had launched a two-year investigation phase for the digital euro, indicating at the time a possible release in 2026. Since then, the central bank has released statements and working papers focusing on the design and features of a central bank digital currency. The ECB Governing Council is expected to review the results of the investigation phase in the third quarter of 2023.
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