Lebrija, a small city in the Sevilla province of Spain, has introduced a cryptocurrency named Elio to support local transactions among residents and merchants. The newly launched cryptocurrency is pegged with Euro.
According to a report by Spanish news agency, Europa Press, Elio cryptocurrency will enable the City Council of Lebrija to send economic aid to 593 selected beneficiaries. The recipients will receive aid between 50 to 200 euros. Additionally, the City Council has announced to pay economic aid of 400 Euros to 393 local businesses through Elio virtual currency under the Municipal Reactive Plan.
Commenting on the recent launch, Pepe Barroso, Mayor of Lebrija, said: “The creation of this virtual currency will ensure that the aid received is directly reversed in local shops."
Head of the City Council’s Technology Department, David Pérez, said: “The City Council has designed an electronic wallet for the cryptocurrency Elio, which is pegged with Euro. Users need to download the app to take advantage of Elio.”
According to the mentioned report, 165 shops in the city have joined the platform and started using the cryptocurrency.
Local Cryptocurrency Projects
Digital currencies have gained popularity across Europe as Governments started exploring opportunities within the cryptocurrency market. European Central Bank earlier in November published a report regarding the developments of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). ECB President Christine Lagarde mentioned that the ECB may launch a digital euro in the next 2 to 4 years. In addition to the efforts on the Government level, some private financial companies in Europe have started issuing stablecoins. One such example is the latest initiative by the German bank, Bankhaus von der Heydt.
Finance Magnates reported earlier this month that one of the oldest banks in Europe, Bankhaus von der Heydt (BVDH) collaborated with the German blockchain technology provider, Bitbond to launch the first-ever Euro Stablecoin on the Stellar Network. The stablecoin is now available for trading.
