President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde expressed concern about the implementation of euro-denominated stablecoins, emphasizing their potential threat to financial stability and monetary policy in the region. She made this statement during a speech at the Economic Forum of the Bank of Spain in Latin America.
This is reported by Finway
ECB’s Position on Euro Stablecoins
According to Lagarde, the benefits of euro stablecoins do not outweigh the risks they pose to the banking system and the monetary sovereignty of Europe. She stressed that the technological capabilities of such assets could be realized through central bank infrastructure rather than private projects. Among the alternatives, she mentioned the ECB’s initiatives Pontes and Appia, focused on tokenized settlements and digital financial infrastructure.
“The arguments in favor of promoting euro-denominated stablecoins are much weaker than they seem,” said the ECB head.
Lagarde also warned of potential risks, including banking panics, mass withdrawals of deposits, and fragmentation of the financial system. As an example, she cited the situation with Silicon Valley Bank and the issuer of the USDC stablecoin — the company Circle in 2023.
Discussion Among European Regulators and the Market
The views of the ECB president diverge from those of the head of Deutsche Bundesbank, Joachim Nagel, who in February 2026 supported the idea of developing euro-denominated assets. Despite the ECB’s official skepticism, financial companies in Europe are not halting work in this direction. In particular, a consortium of 12 banks within the joint venture Qivalis is preparing to launch a regulated euro stablecoin in the second half of 2026.
Discussions about digital assets in Europe are intensifying against the backdrop of the dominance of stablecoins pegged to the US dollar. According to the latest data, such tokens hold the largest share of the market, while stablecoins denominated in other currencies remain less widespread.