ECB President Lagarde: Europe should not simply replicate the US stablecoin model

According to CoinDesk, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde stated in a speech that Europe should not simply replicate the U.S. stablecoin model, but should prioritize building tokenized settlement infrastructure centered around central bank currencies.

She pointed out that the $310 billion stablecoin market, dominated by Tether and Circle, poses financial stability risks and could transmit pressure to underlying asset markets during times of crisis. Lagarde believes that the technological advantages of stablecoins can be replicated by central bank infrastructure, while their monetary functions introduce unacceptable financial stability risks. She cited the 2023 collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, which led to a brief de-pegging of USDC, as an example.

Although a consortium of 12 major European banks, including ING, BBVA, and BNP Paribas, plans to launch a private digital euro later this year, citing that Europe faces "dollarization risks," Lagarde still called for EU countries to support the research and development of central bank digital currencies. The European Central Bank aims to launch a digital euro by 2029.