Will the European Union pass legislation guaranteeing 'cash-like' anonymity for low-value offline Digital Euro transactions before the end of 2027?

Digital Euro: Guaranteed Anonymity by 2027?

As the ECB prepares the Digital Euro, privacy is the primary public concern. This prediction asks if the EU will pass binding legislation ensuring that low-value, offline transactions (e.g., under 50 euros, peer-to-peer) remain fully anonymous, similar to physical cash.

The Political Compromise

The 'Yes' vote leads because this feature is the critical 'selling point' for the project. European privacy regulators (EDPB) and civil liberties groups have drawn a hard line. To gain public trust and pass the European Parliament, the ECB has already technically designed an 'offline modality' that minimizes data sharing. Codifying this into law before the pilot launches is widely seen as a political necessity to avoid the project being rejected by the public as a surveillance tool.