Market News

By Francesco Canepa and Balazs Koranyi

FRANKFURT, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank hopes U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to support cryptocurrencies pegged to the U.S. dollar will speed up legislative backing for the digital euro, ECB board member Piero Cipollone told Reuters. The ECB has presented its digital currency - essentially an online wallet guaranteed by the central bank - in part as an electronic means of payment that does not rely on dominant U.S. providers such as Visa (V.N)

Cipollone said Trump's support for globally available stablecoins tied to the dollar would help create yet another U.S.-made payment tool and added urgency to the digital euro project.

The European Commission proposed digital euro legislation in June 2023 but not much has happened since amid scepticism from some lawmakers and bankers.

"The political world is becoming more alert to this," Cipollone said in an interview on Wednesday. "And it’s possible that we will see an acceleration in the process."