Policymakers in the EU push digital euro plans considering Ethereum and Solana to challenge US stablecoins.
The European Union is moving quickly on its digital euro project. This urgency comes just as the United States recently passed the GENIUS Act, which gives clear rules for dollar-backed stablecoins.
European policymakers fear that the GENIUS Act’s passage will give US dollar tokens an advantage in payments. Because of this, they are considering running the digital euro on public blockchains like Ethereum or Solana to keep the Euro competitive.
Digital Euro on Ethereum or Solana
The switch from a private ledger to a public blockchain would be a major change for the European Central Bank (ECB). Until now, the ECB favoured a model that kept tight control over payment data. However, public blockchains offer openness, speed and accessibility.
JUST IN: 🇪🇺 EU accelerates plans for digital euro stablecoin with potential rollout on Ethereum or Solana blockchain. pic.twitter.com/PyIK21SRyL
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Ethereum and Solana stand out as some of the top options for these applications because they already power large parts of the crypto space. In other words, running a digital euro on one of these chains would make it instantly usable with crypto wallets and services that consumers already have.
US Stablecoins Push Europe to Act
Dollar-pegged stablecoins currently dominate the global market. According to data from DefiLlama, they account for around 98% of all stablecoin activity. This dominance is a natural threat to the role of the euro in international payments.
The GENIUS Act in the US is a major source of legal clarity for these tokens. European officials now fear that this could speed up their adoption worldwide. In response, the EU is pushing its own solution in the form of a digital euro.
Public vs Private Blockchains
One of the biggest debates is whether the digital euro should run on a private or public system. A private design would resemble China’s digital yuan, where transaction data stays under state control.
On the other hand, a public blockchain would function more like Circle’s USDC stablecoin, which works openly on networks like Ethereum.
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Whichever choice the EU makes will come with its own set of tradeoffs. A public model would allow for better interoperability, but it raises worries about privacy and state influence.
Public blockchains make transactions transparent. This transparency can be great for building trust, but it also creates worries over privacy. Europeans value data protection, and officials want to make sure that personal information is always safe.
The ECB has said the digital euro should exist alongside cash. That means it must be accessible to all, not only those comfortable with advanced technology.
In all, the EU is tasked with figuring out how to balance privacy, accessibility and efficiency into one Euro-backed digital asset.
What Comes Next?
The ECB has not yet made a final decision on whether to issue the digital euro or which blockchain to do it. However, the Governing Council is expected to decide by the end of the year.
If approved, the project would not only affect how payments are carried out within Europe but would also influence financial stability on a global scale.
