Spanish City Lebrija Launches Local Virtual Currency ‘Elio’ as Form of Stimulus

The elio can only be used for payments to small and medium-sized businesses.

AccessTimeIconDec 29, 2020 at 12:20 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 10:49 a.m. UTC
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The city council of Lebrija has created a virtual currency, elio, that can only be used for payments made to small and medium-sized businesses, according to a report by Diario de Sevilla.

  • Lebrija has created the virtual currency to support economic activity during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report.
  • One Elio is equivalent to one euro and almost 600 families will receive between €20 (US$24.50) and €200 ($244.96), which can only be spent in local businesses using an app.
  • The deadline to use the elio was Dec. 31 but, according to the report, this has been extended until March 31, 2021.

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