Denis Beau warns dollar stablecoins threaten Europe
Denis Beau urged immediate private-sector mobilisation to build euro stablecoins, breaking publicly with ECB president Christine Lagardes slower approach.Banque de France deputy governor Denis Beau called for all relevant European players, public and private, to mobilise now to develop euro-based tokenised money.Beaus position conflicts with ECB president Christine Lagarde, who favours a central bank digital euro targeted for launch around 2029.Dollar-pegged stablecoins account for 98% of the total stablecoin market, raising fears of digital dollarisation across European payment infrastructure. Denis Beau, deputy governor of the Banque de France, called on May 12 for a “mobilization of all relevant European players, public and private,” to develop euro-based tokenised money to counter the dominance of dollar-pegged stablecoins. His position puts him at odds with ECB president Christine Lagarde, who favours waiting for a state-issued digital euro scheduled for around 2029. “To ensure a sound development of tokenised finance in Europe, its payment and settlement asset pillar should be in euro,” Beau told analysts this week. Dollar-pegged tokens from Tether and Circle currently account for 98% of the total stablecoin market, a concentration Beau described as a direct threat to European monetary sovereignty. What Beau is asking for and why it differs from Lagarde While Lagarde has