tl;dr
ESM managing director Pierre Gramegna warns that Trump's pro-crypto stance, especially regarding dollar-backed stablecoins, could challenge Europe's monetary autonomy. He supports the ECB's efforts to accelerate the digital euro in response to the US push for dollar-backed stablecoins. Gramegna emph...
ESM managing director Pierre Gramegna warned that Trump's pro-crypto stance, especially regarding dollar-backed stablecoins, could challenge Europe's monetary autonomy. He supports the ECB's efforts to accelerate the digital euro in response to the US push for dollar-backed stablecoins. Gramegna emphasizes the urgency of a European CBDC to maintain financial autonomy and stability. Meanwhile, Trump's administration has signed executive orders establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile, signaling a fundamental role for stablecoins in the US economic plan. The ECB, however, remains firm in rejecting Bitcoin as a reserve asset.
European Stability Mechanism (ESM) managing director Pierre Gramegna said that President Donald Trump’s administration’s favorable stance toward crypto, particularly dollar-backed stablecoins, could challenge Europe’s monetary autonomy. He warned that the changing US stance could encourage both foreign and American technology firms to pursue large-scale payment solutions using dollar-denominated stablecoins.
US dollar-pegged stablecoins have a combined market cap of over $224 billion and play a significant role in global finance, moving over $4 trillion over the past 30 days, according to Artemis data. In response to these concerns, the ESM supports the European Central Bank’s (ECB) accelerated efforts to develop and implement a digital euro.
In response to Trump's push to promote dollar-backed stablecoins globally, ECB board member Piero Cipollone stated that the central bank must accelerate the push for the digital euro. Trump's executive order prohibited federal agencies from pursuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and laid a framework to bolster the adoption of dollar-backed stablecoins worldwide.
Last week, Trump’s administration deepened its efforts in the crypto industry by signing a second executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin (BTC) Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile. The vaults will hold crypto seized in legal proceedings and will be managed by the Treasury. The reserve will serve as a long-term holding, with the Treasury directed to accumulate more Bitcoin in a budget-neutral manner. Trump has also signaled that stablecoins will be a fundamental part of America’s economic plan to ensure the US dollar maintains its dominance as the global reserve currency. The ECB, in contrast, has remained firm in its rejection of Bitcoin as a reserve asset.