In the midst of the boom that has emerged after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that, among other things, prohibits the development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the United States, the European Union (EU) responded to the new president, emphasizing the “need” for a digital euro.
A member of the board of the European Central Bank (ECB), Piero Cipollone, stated This Friday that Trump’s order, to promote the development and growth of legal and legitimate stablecoins, may cause customers to leave banks, strengthening a potential use case for the European CBDC.
According to Cipollone, “this solution (stablecoins) further disintermediates banks, since they lose commissions, they lose clients… That is why we need a digital euro,” reported the Reuters agency.
The digital euro is in an advanced phase of research and preparation. The ECB is currently in phased pilots, with a decision pending in 2025 or 2026 on whether to deploy the CBDC. This project joins the other dozens of CBDC initiatives that are currently in development around the world.
As a sign of its progress, the European Payments Council advertisement this week that the Spanish fintech company Monei, as well as other companies in the sector, would be part of a working group to carry out digital payments tests using the digital euro and relying on ECB technology. In total, the program integrates 83 payment service providers and their associations.
A CBDC, or central bank digital currency, is a digital currency issued and backed by a central bank. Its implementation poses both opportunities and challenges, including significant risks to privacy and financial freedom.
As CriptoNoticias has reported, the adoption of CBDC could lead to more intense financial surveillance by governments, by providing centralized control over digital transactions. Furthermore, there is a risk that they will be used to limit the financial autonomy of individualssince each transaction could be monitored and regulated more strictly.
Trump signs pro-cryptocurrency order
Yesterday, Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order where, among other measures, he expresses support for stablecoins such as USDT to strengthen the dollar and establishes a ban on central bank digital currencies (CBDC).
This order is part of Donald Trump’s pro-cryptocurrency move, which he summarizes in an executive order several of the promises made during his campaignsuch as creating a cryptocurrency reserve. Although the bitcoiner community expected that this reserve would be exclusively bitcoin, The order does not specify this detail.
Trump’s push for stablecoins is interpreted as an attempt to maintain the hegemony of the dollar in a context where CBDCs could alter the global financial balance. Stablecoins, which are pegged to traditional assets like the dollar, could offer a safe and regulated alternative to volatile cryptocurrencies, but they could also accelerate the disintermediation of traditional banks, a phenomenon that worries European financial regulators.
The debate about CBDCs and stablecoins is not only technological or financial, but also political and philosophical, touching on fundamental issues such as privacy, monetary sovereignty and financial inclusion. As Europe moves towards a digital version of the euro, the US stance under the Trump administration shows a different direction, favoring stablecoins and resisting CBDCs, which could change the landscape of global finance in the coming years. years.