Spain’s central bank, Banco de España, has selected three collaborators for the testing phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative. This comes a year after the bank issued a call for collaboration.
The chosen partners for the six-month pilot of the wholesale CBDC are Cecabank, Abanca, and Adhara Blockchain. Cecabank and Abanca are Spanish entities, while Adhara Blockchain is based in the United Kingdom. During the testing phase, the collaborators will simulate the processing and settlement of interbank payments using a tokenized wholesale CBDC. They will also explore the exchange of different wholesale CBDCs issued by various central banks.
It’s important to note that this CBDC program is separate from the digital euro project, which would cover all economies in the eurozone if implemented.
Spain has been actively engaging with the cryptocurrency market, with efforts to implement the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) and exploring the potential applications of the digital euro.
The European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of Spain are also working on the digital euro project, emphasizing the benefits of digitalization in payments and the economy. The ECB has started the “preparation phase” for the digital euro project, which will last two years. The aim is to finalize rules for the digital currency and select possible issuers. The preparation phase is expected to be completed by 2025, but a final decision on issuing a pan-EU CBDC is yet to be made.
Despite these developments, surveys indicate limited enthusiasm for the digital euro among the Spanish population. Only 20% of respondents expressed willingness to integrate the pan-European CBDC into their regular payment methods, while 65% indicated reluctance. This raises questions about the widespread acceptance of CBDCs in the Spanish financial landscape.
Spain’s collaboration on the CBDC testing phase demonstrates initiative in the evolving landscape of digital currencies, but it also highlights the challenges posed by public skepticism and ongoing global CBDC explorations.
The source of the article is from the blog procarsrl.com.ar