European Union policymakers are debating whether to launch the digital euro on public blockchains as they accelerate work on the CBDC in response to the passage of the Genius Act in the US and fears that it could see dollar-baked stablecoins dominate cross-border payments, according to the Financial Times.
Ove the last year, the digital euro project's urgency has increased in the face of geopolitical challenges, including an increasingly hostile United States under Donald Trump and concerns about Europe's reliance on Mastercard and Visa.
According to the FT, America's new stablecoin law took make in Europe off-guard and has further intensified pressure to push ahead with the digital euro to counter the risk of America tightening its grip on cross-border payments.
To counter the perceived threat, officials are considering launching the CBDC on public blockchains like Ethereum or Solana.
Previously, the European Central Bank was understood to favour a private, centrally-controlled system for security and privacy reasons. However, public blockchains would help the digital euro compete with dollar-baked stablecoins around the world.