<p>The European Central Bank said that its public consultation on a proposed digital euro generated more than 8,000 responses. </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The online consultation began on October 12 and concluded on Tuesday, according to a </span><a href="https://www.ecb.europa.eu//press/pr/date/2021/html/ecb.pr210113~ec9929f446.en.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">statement</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> published today. Full analyses of the findings will be published in spring, prior to when the ECB Governing Council will decide whether to launch a digital euro. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Initial analysis of the data of raw data finds that 41% of respondents felt view privacy as the most important feature of a prospective digital euro. Security and accessibility in Europe were also top-of-mind among participants, per the ECB.</span></p> <p>Senior officials in the EU h<a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/85986/ecb-lagarde-digital-euro-stablecoins-risk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ave said</a> that a digital euro, if approved and launched, would serve in a complementary capacity alongside physical cash. And digital euro wouldn't happen overnight -- estimates indicate that any roll-out would likely take at least two years.</p> <p>Fabio Panetta, an ECB executive board member and chair of the central bank's digital euro task force, said: <span style="font-weight: 400;">“The high number of responses to our survey shows the great interest of Europe’s citizens and firms in shaping the vision of a digital euro."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The opinions of citizens, businesses and all stakeholders are of utmost importance for us as we assess which use cases a digital euro might best serve," Panetta was quoted as saying.</span></p>