Ecuador heralds digital currency plans

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador is planning to create what it calls the world’s first digital currency issued by a central bank, which some analysts believe could be a first step toward abandoning the country’s existing currency, the U.S. dollar.

The electronic money, which Central Bank officials say they expect will start circulating in December, does not have a name and officials would not disclose technical details, though they said it would not be a crypto-currency like Bitcoin. The amount of the new currency created would depend on demand.