Strategy’s Michael Saylor posted on X today that: “EUR gonna need BTC.” The message came at a time when European leaders were already on edge. The U.S. is all in on crypto, and the Eurozone is scrambling to respond.
On March 10, top European finance officials admitted they are worried about the euro’s future, as US President Donald Trump is busy making crypto a national priority. Trump just signed an executive order to build a government-owned crypto reserve earlier this month in a complete policy reversal from the last administration, and it has Europe panicking about what comes next.
After the discussion on March 10, Paschal Donohoe, the ministers chairman, admitted that the situation could impact Europe’s economic autonomy.
“Policy developments in other jurisdictions can have important consequences for us here in Europe,” Donohoe said at a press conference. He made it clear that the Eurozone’s monetary stability could be at risk if the U.S. move to embrace crypto gains momentum.
For Europe, this isn’t just about monetary policy—it’s about power. The European Central Bank (ECB) has been trying to push its own digital euro project since 2020. That plan started after Facebook introduced the Libra project, a digital currency that got regulators on both sides of the Atlantic worried. Libra was later renamed Diem and collapsed in 2022, but the concerns never went away.
Pierre Gramegna, the head of the European Stability Mechanism, said the issue is much bigger than just crypto adoption.
“(The) discussion … highlighted that what is at stake here is also European sovereignty,” Gramegna said.
His biggest concern? The U.S. administration is actively supporting crypto, especially dollar-backed stablecoins. That could lead to a scenario where American companies flood Europe with payment solutions based on U.S. stablecoins.
“The U.S. administration’s stance on this compared to the past has changed: the U.S. administration is favourable towards cryptocurrencies and especially dollar-denominated stablecoins,” Gramegna said.
If that happens, Europe could lose control over its own financial system.
ECB sees stablecoins as a threat to the euro
The ECB’s chief economist, Philip Lane, is sounding the alarm. He believes that without a digital euro, the U.S. dollar will take over.
“The digital euro would provide a secure, universally accepted digital payment option under European governance, reducing reliance on foreign providers,” Lane said in a speech at University College Cork in Ireland.
Right now, 99% of the stablecoin market is tied to the U.S. dollar. That means if people in Europe start using stablecoins for everyday transactions, the Eurozone’s financial system could become dependent on the U.S..
Lane also pointed out that Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal already dominate digital payments in Europe. That, according to him, is another sign that the region is losing financial independence to foreign tech giants.
“The availability of the digital euro would also limit the likelihood of foreign-currency stablecoins gaining a foothold as a medium of exchange in the euro area,” Lane said.
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