A key figure involved in preparing legislation for the digital euro has been accused of stalling by rival politicians—and over in Russia, Vladimir Putin wants his country to "seize the moment" and embrace the digital ruble.

"Even if CBDC is not used, we still need it for interlinking", conclude Canadian researchers. Meanwhile, the digital euro overcomes a key technical hurdle, as Israel and Taiwan say they won't launch CBDC until someone else does first.

The ECB issues a progress report on the digital euro, demand for the e-rupee sinks in India, while China integrates e-CNY in the insurance payment systems

The IMF's been warned that it might have bitten off more than it can chew as it leads the charge on CBDC policies, as McKinsey claims the tokenization market in 2030 will be worth a lot less than previous estimates. Iran, Ethiopia and South Korea in CBDC news.

ECB President Christine Lagarde casts doubt on a digital euro by 2027 — as China silently removes the 'pilot version' markings from its e-CNY application

China's residents get red envelopes in the e-CNY app, while polls show that 59% of Germans have never even heard of the digital euro. Also this week, a cool use case for tokenization.

It looks unlikely that a digital pound will launch in the U.K. any time soon as an election beckons. The digital shekel challenge, updates on India CBDC progress and other news in this week's roundup

There's new legislation designed to prevent a digital dollar from intruding on consumer privacy — with a report also revealing how central banks could enhance CBDC adoption.