Cryptocurrencies

ECB Starts Next Digital-Euro Stage With Investigation Phase

  • Process will take 24 months before decision on adoption taken
  • ECB says infrastructure would use far less energy than Bitcoin

Photographer: Ulrich Baumgarten/Ulrich Baumgarten/Getty Images

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The European Central Bank took a major step toward a digital euro on Wednesday, approving an “investigation phase” that could ultimately lead to a virtual currency being implemented around the middle of the decade.