In a quiet corner of the eurozone, the next era of money is already taking shape. But can a digital euro deliver financial stability, privacy and sovereignty without becoming just another tool of control?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the European Central Bank first floated the idea of a digital euro in 2021, it felt to many like a speculative gesture \u2014 a bureaucratic nod to the rising influence of cryptocurrency and the growing power of tech giants in global payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But here in Lithuania, the idea never felt abstract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not after Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. Not after waves of cyberattacks across Eastern Europe. And certainly not as European governments continue to pay billions in fees to American card networks just to process domestic transactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor us, this isn\u2019t about hype<\/em>,\u201d says\u00a0Edgars Lasmanis, founder of Lithuanian fintech company WALLETTO. \u201cIt\u2019s about sovereignty, resilience, and real-world use cases.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, with legislative groundwork nearly complete and prototypes in development, Lithuania is emerging as one of the most prepared \u2014 and most motivated \u2014 backers of the digital euro: a central bank digital currency (CBDC) designed to complement cash, operate offline, and offer a pan-European alternative to Visa, Mastercard, and Big Tech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why the Baltic states are listening<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Across much of the eurozone, the digital euro is still viewed with ambivalence. Citizens express concern about surveillance, centralisation, and the vague fear that something valuable is being replaced with something cold and programmable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But in Lithuania \u2014 a country of fewer than 3 million people that borders both Russia and Belarus \u2014 the mood is more pragmatic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe know what it means to be cut off,\u201d says\u00a0Ingrida Simonaityt\u0117, a cybersecurity consultant in Vilnius. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen what happens when infrastructure fails. Having your own payment system isn\u2019t just nice \u2014 it\u2019s national security<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to data from the Bank of Lithuania, the country is almost entirely dependent on international card schemes for everyday payments. Neither Lithuania nor 13 other eurozone countries currently have a domestic card system \u2014 a dependency that European officials describe as a strategic vulnerability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2022, the EU paid an estimated \u20ac1 billion in card fees to U.S. providers. Lithuania alone handles nearly all of its digital transactions through Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat kind of reliance on external infrastructure isn\u2019t sustainable<\/em>,\u201d Lasmanis says. \u201cEspecially when you consider that geopolitics now includes cables, chips, and payments.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What exactly is the digital euro?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike Bitcoin or stablecoins, the digital euro is state money. It would be issued by the Eurosystem \u2014 the ECB and national central banks \u2014 not commercial banks or private platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The goal is not to eliminate cash, but to create a parallel, digital means of payment: one that is free to use, widely accepted across the eurozone, and capable of functioning even during internet outages or political instability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Key features include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The plan, currently in the preparatory phase, is to roll out basic infrastructure by 2027, with a full rollout by 2030. The ECB emphasizes that it has no commercial interest in transaction data and that privacy will be \u201cas close to cash as possible,\u201d particularly for offline transactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s designed to be neutral and foundationa<\/em>l,\u201d says\u00a0Christine Lagarde, ECB President, in a recent speech. \u201cA public option for digital money<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A digital euro, built in Vilnius?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In Vilnius, the central bank has already built a live demo of how the digital euro might work \u2014 including offline payments, QR-based peer-to-peer transfers, and real-time tax declarations for merchants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Behind the scenes, firms like Walletto are helping to shape how private-sector intermediaries \u2014 banks, PSPs, fintechs \u2014 will integrate with the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe idea is not to compete with private companies<\/em>,\u201d says\u00a0Tomas Garbaravi\u010dius, an adviser at the Bank of Lithuania. \u201cIt\u2019s to give them the rails to build better services<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n WALLETTO which already offers card issuing, merchant acquiring, and bulk payouts, is positioning itself to be one of those builders. Lasmanis says the company is ready to\u00a0integrate digital euro functionality into its platform\u00a0the moment a viable API is available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe already serve clients across the EEA<\/em>,\u201d he says. \u201cIf we can offer them digital euro capabilities \u2014 especially offline or instant settlement \u2014 it\u2019ll be a game changer<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n From Brussels to Washington: The global view<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While the EU pushes forward with the digital euro, other major economies are watching \u2014 or hesitating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the United States, efforts to develop a digital dollar remain stuck in early research stages. The Federal Reserve has been cautious, citing concerns over bank disintermediation, privacy, and political backlash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re watching Europe closely,\u201d said\u00a0Michael Barr, Vice Chair for Supervision at the Fed, during a 2024 testimony<\/em>. \u201cBut any U.S. CBDC would require Congressional approval \u2014 and public trust<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That trust may be hard to earn. In a polarized political environment, CBDCs are often framed as government overreach. In contrast, Lithuania has framed the digital euro as a democratic tool \u2014 giving citizens options, not orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNobody will be forced to use the digital euro<\/em>,\u201d Lasmanis emphasizes. \u201cBut people should be able to. Especially in a crisis<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can it really work offline?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps the most radical feature of the digital euro is its ability to work without internet or mobile connection. Using secure chips embedded in smartphones or cards, users could transfer funds directly \u2014 no cloud, no server, no telecoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is where the innovation really lies<\/em>,\u201d says\u00a0Lisa Thompson, a digital currency researcher at MIT. \u201cOffline capability breaks the dependence on real-time infrastructure. It\u2019s closer to cash than any digital payment we’ve seen<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Lithuania, that capability is seen not as a curiosity, but a necessity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf the cable goes out, if there’s a cyberattack, if there\u2019s another war \u2014 we need fallback options<\/em>,\u201d says Simonaityt\u0117. \u201cThat\u2019s what the digital euro offers. Not speculation \u2014 resilience<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But what about privacy?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite ECB assurances, privacy remains a flashpoint \u2014 particularly in Germany, where cash usage is culturally significant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Surveys show that many citizens fear surveillance, even if the central bank promises pseudonymisation, data encryption, and strict legal firewalls between banks and public authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lasmanis is cautiously optimistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTrust has to be earned<\/em>,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s why the offline mode matters. If you can pay without a network, without a trail, then the system becomes credible.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0He adds that privacy should not be seen as incompatible with compliance: \u201cIt\u2019s possible to have robust AML and still protect the user. We do it every day.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Europe\u2019s quiet counterweight to Big Tech<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, the digital euro is about rebalancing power \u2014 not just within finance, but within society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Visa and Mastercard are global businesses. Apple and Google own the device layers. Commercial banks own deposits. But central banks, in theory, serve the public. And that distinction matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA payments system should not be hostage to any one provider \u2014 or country<\/em>,\u201d says Lagarde.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If successful, the digital euro could become the first truly public digital currency used at scale \u2014 offering Europeans a way to pay, get paid, and store value without handing over their data, identity, or dependence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back in Vilnius, the work continues<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n At Walletto\u2019s office, developers are already mapping what a future integration might look like: merchant terminals that accept digital euro alongside cards; apps that let users move between money types; APIs that let governments disburse aid instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe future of money is modular,<\/em>\u201d Lasmanis says. \u201cAnd the digital euro is one of those modules<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n His view is neither utopian nor cynical. It\u2019s pragmatic \u2014 a view shaped by Lithuania\u2019s geography, its past, and its digital future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn the Baltics, we don\u2019t ask if something is necessary. We ask: what happens if we don\u2019t have it<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a quiet corner of the eurozone, the next era of money is already taking shape. But can a digital euro deliver financial stability, privacy and sovereignty without becoming just another tool of control? 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