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

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.

Read more: Spain’s Second-Largest Bank Will Soon Launch Crypto Services: Sources