The ECB is currently one of around 100 central banks exploring a central bank digital currency, and is expected to consider whether to do so later this year. Some observers have touted the ability to limit further uses of the digital currency — such as food stamps that can only be spent on essential goods or automatic tax payments — as an advantage. Others, incl eurozone finance ministersthey oppose, arguing that the ability to be programmed would override money’s function as a fully fungible asset.
The digital euro will never be programmable, says the ECB’s Panetta
