The European Central Bank (ECB) said its planned digital euro would not allow the central bank to identify individual users. The ECB is developing the digital euro to strengthen Europe's payments system and reduce reliance on non-European payment providers, with a pilot possibly beginning in 2029 pending legislation. The ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said the design would limit data collection, allowing only banks involved in transactions to see details for anti-money-laundering purposes, while the Eurosystem would not directly link payments to persons. Offline digital euro transactions would be visible only to the payer and payee. Lawmakers, privacy advocates and members of the crypto community have warned that government-issued digital currencies could increase financial surveillance. In the United States, President Donald Trump in January 2025 prohibited federal agencies from developing or promoting a CBDC, citing privacy and sovereignty concerns, and House lawmakers introduced the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act to bar the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital euro. The European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee approved the digital euro legislation in June, and the proposal was cleared for council negotiations in July. The ECB said the digital euro could be issued as early as 2029 if legislation is adopted and technical requirements are met. The debate continues as European authorities balance payment sovereignty with privacy considerations.