The European Central Bank has selected COTI as a Pioneer Partner for its central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative. The selected partners are tasked with demonstrating the technical implementation of a conditional payments system before the CBDC’s launch.
Digital Euro Launch Set for Early 2026
COTI, an Ethereum confidentiality layer, has been selected by the European Central Bank (ECB) as a Pioneer Partner for its central bank digital currency (CBDC). Known for its breakthrough cryptographic protocol, garbled circuits, COTI alongside prominent organizations including KPMG, Accenture and TATA are expected to help develop the technology behind the Eurozone’s digital currency.
The blockchain protocol is among nearly 70 market participants – including merchants, fintech companies, banks and other payment service providers – that have signed up to work with the ECB to explore digital euro payment functionalities and use cases. With the digital euro launch slated for early 2026, selected pioneer partners have between now and then to “demonstrate how a conditional payments system could be implemented on a technical level.”
Remarking on the ECB’s selection of COTI, Shahaf Bar-Geffen, co-founder and CEO, said:
Being invited to work with the ECB on such a consequential project is humbling, and a testament to the expertise and hard work of the COTI team. Privacy is a vital component for the future of Web3, ensuring users’ security and organizations’ compliance, and the same benefits apply to CBDCs. It’s critical that confidentiality is built into the core of these new systems, not merely added as an afterthought.
The European digital euro project is the second CBDC that COTI has worked with, after the Bank of Israel’s Digital Shekel. In the Israeli project, COTI developed a proof-of-concept for trustless cross-border and cross-currency transactions using a decentralized marketplace powered by CBDCs and secured by garbled circuits for on-chain confidentiality.
However, by working as a pioneer under the ECB’s digital euro project, COTI will be exploring how to integrate the simulated digital euro interfaces with its platforms. The ECB is expected to provide participants with technical support and specifications, such as an application programming interface, to conduct independent work on use cases of their choice.
According to the ECB, the Pioneers group is expected to produce a report later in the year for review by the central bank.