Societe Generale chairperson: Europe needs to embrace stablecoins

Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, chairperson of Socie ́ te ́ Ge ́ ne ́ rale and a former member of the European Central Bank's executive board, wrote in "Europe needs to shrug off fear and embrace stablecoins", arguing that Europe faces the risk of being marginalized in the digital financial ecosystem. At present, 99% of the world's stablecoins are issued by the United States and denominated in US dollars, and the euro has little presence in emerging fields. Although the European Union launched the world's most comprehensive regulatory framework for cryptoassets, MiCA, which requires stablecoin issuers to hold highly liquid reserves of 30% cash and 70% high-rated sovereign bonds, cultural risk aversion still hinders innovation, and European banks see stablecoins as a threat and lack of motivation to invest.