Does Europe need Euro-pegged stablecoins? Bundesbank chief says…

ambcryptoPublished on 2026-02-17Last updated on 2026-02-17

Abstract

Europe is increasingly focused on developing euro-denominated stablecoins, a wholesale CBDC, and a digital euro to enhance its financial sovereignty, according to Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel. He emphasized that euro-pegged stablecoins could facilitate low-cost cross-border payments for individuals and businesses. This shift comes as Europe seeks strategic independence amid a changing transatlantic partnership, despite strong economic ties with the U.S. including €5.4 trillion in mutual investments and significant contributions to global trade and GDP.

Europe is playing catch-up in the global money race. According to Joachim Nagel, president of the Deutsche Bundesbank, the region is now looking more seriously at euro-denominated stablecoins!

Digital money for financial independence

Nagel recently said that Europe should support euro-denominated stablecoins, a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC), and a digital euro to strengthen the region’s financial sovereignty.

At the New Year’s Reception of the American Chamber of Commerce in Frankfurt, he said,

“I also see merit in euro-denominated stablecoins, as they can be used for cross-border payments by individuals and firms at low cost.”

The European Union and the United States are connected economically, with around €5.4 trillion in mutual investment stock and a partnership that accounts for roughly 30% of global trade and 44% of global GDP.

But now, Europe is considering strategic independence.

“These days, however, the previously solid ground of the transatlantic partnership values seems shaky.”

Challenges to growth

The Era Has Arrived Where Human Writers Must Prove They Are Not Machines

The article describes an era where AI-generated content is flooding the market, forcing human authors to prove they are not machines. It begins with the example of dozens of AI-written, error-ridden biographies of Henry Kissinger appearing on Amazon within hours of his death, a pattern repeated for other deceased celebrities and even living experts who find fraudulent books under their names. This spam content has exploded, with monthly new book releases on platforms like Amazon reaching 300,000 by late 2025. The issue spans genres, from suspiciously high proportions of AI-written teen romance and self-help books to dangerous, AI-generated foraging guides containing lethal advice. The platforms' automated review systems, designed to catch plagiarism and banned words, are ill-equipped to detect AI-generated text that avoids these pitfalls while being nonsensical or fraudulent. The problem has infiltrated traditional publishing. A major publisher, Hachette, had to recall a bestselling horror novel after AI detection tools suggested 78% of its content was machine-generated. An acclaimed European philosophy book was later revealed to be entirely written by AI under a fake author persona. In response, authors are fighting back. At the 2026 London Book Fair, 10,000 writers published a blank book titled "Don't Steal This Book" containing only their signatures—using emptiness as a protest weapon in an age of AI overproduction. Initiatives like the "Human Author Certification" program have emerged, ironically placing the burden on humans to prove their work is not machine-made. The article warns of a vicious cycle: AI-generated low-quality books pollute the data used to train future AI models, leading to "model collapse" and an ever-worsening flood of digital waste, eroding trust in publishing and devaluing human creativity.

marsbit16m ago

The Era Has Arrived Where Human Writers Must Prove They Are Not Machines

marsbit16m ago

Strategy CEO Highlights Scenarios Where Company Would Sell Bitcoin — Report

Strategy CEO Phong Le outlined potential scenarios for the company to sell portions of its massive Bitcoin holdings, a departure from its "Never Sell" philosophy. In a CNBC interview, Le stated sales could occur to finance dividend payments for its Perpetual Preferred Stock if doing so increases shareholder value, defined as a rise in "Bitcoin per share." He emphasized a data-driven approach, prioritizing math over ideology. Other reasons include when the company's book value is below market value or to capture tax benefits. As the largest corporate holder with 818,334 BTC (~$65 billion), Strategy has significant annual dividend obligations (~$1.5 billion). Le believes the Bitcoin market's high liquidity (~$60B daily volume) can absorb such sales without major price impact. Bitcoin currently trades around $80,840.

bitcoinist28m ago

Strategy CEO Highlights Scenarios Where Company Would Sell Bitcoin — Report

bitcoinist28m ago

Crypto Funds See Six Consecutive Weeks of Net Inflows, CLARITY Act Drives $858 Million Influx

Global cryptocurrency investment products recorded a net inflow of $857.9 million last week, marking the sixth consecutive week of positive flows and the largest single-week inflow since April 24, according to CoinShares' latest report. The primary catalyst was legislative progress on the U.S. CLARITY Act, specifically the final compromise text for stablecoin yield provisions, alongside Bitcoin's price breaking above $80,000. U.S.-listed products dominated with $776.6 million in inflows, a significant jump from the prior week's $47.5 million. European markets also saw increased participation. Bitcoin products led with $706.1 million in inflows, while short-Bitcoin products experienced their largest weekly outflow of 2026, indicating unwinding bearish positions. Major altcoins like Ethereum, Solana, and XRP all saw renewed positive flows, with Ethereum reversing its prior week's outflow to attract $77.1 million. Total assets under management (AUM) climbed to $160 billion.

marsbit31m ago

Crypto Funds See Six Consecutive Weeks of Net Inflows, CLARITY Act Drives $858 Million Influx

marsbit31m ago

Silicon Valley Wang Chuan: How Can You Not Feel Anxious When the Neighbor Lao Wang Earned 30x by Investing in Storage Stocks?

The author explores anxiety, attributing it to the amygdala's stress response, and suggests writing down worries to shift control to the rational prefrontal cortex, easing anxiety more effectively than mere reassurance. The piece then examines a source of financial anxiety in May 2026: a 150% surge in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, with storage stock SNDK skyrocketing 38x. The author analyzes the underlying logic behind this boom, tracing it to soaring valuations of AI startups like Anthropic (Anth). Anth's reported $400 billion ARR is scrutinized, revealing that cumulative revenue since founding is only about $108 billion, with the company still losing billions monthly and relying on continuous funding (having raised $723 billion). The author contrasts Anth's $1+ trillion valuation speculation with Berkshire Hathaway's fundamentals ($3.7 trillion revenue, $669 billion profit, $4 trillion cash, $1 trillion market cap), questioning the belief that a loss-making, funding-dependent startup could be worth more than the established giant. The narrative concludes by linking the massive valuations of Anth and OpenAI to a surge in AI industry capital expenditure (capex), which in turn fueled the storage sector's prosperity, setting the stage for a further discussion.

marsbit42m ago

Silicon Valley Wang Chuan: How Can You Not Feel Anxious When the Neighbor Lao Wang Earned 30x by Investing in Storage Stocks?

marsbit42m ago

The King of Blind Date Attire in Korea: How SK Hynix Made a Comeback Against Samsung?

In South Korea's dating scene, SK Hynix employees are now highly sought after, a status shift fueled by the company's astronomical profits and employee bonuses, projected to reach up to 6.1 million RMB per person by 2027. This marks a dramatic reversal for the long-time second-place player in memory semiconductors, which has now surpassed its rival Samsung in annual operating profit. The turnaround story began in 2008 when a struggling Hynix, emerging from bankruptcy restructuring, took a risky bet by agreeing to develop High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) with AMD. At the time, HBM had no clear market beyond high-end graphics cards and was a costly, complex technology. Major players like Samsung, pursuing its own HMC technology, declined. For Hynix, with only memory as its core business, it was a gamble born of necessity. The pivotal moment came in 2012 when SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won acquired Hynix. Defying industry downturns, he invested heavily in R&D and fabrication, sustaining the HBM project through over a decade of commercial uncertainty and internal challenges. A key break occurred around 2016-2017 when Samsung faced production issues supplying HBM2 for Google's TPU, allowing SK Hynix to gain a crucial foothold in the data center market. The AI explosion post-ChatGPT in 2022 was the catalyst, turning HBM into a critical bottleneck for AI accelerators like NVIDIA's GPUs. By 2025, SK Hynix captured 62% of the global HBM market, leaving Samsung at 17%. For the first time, its annual operating profit exceeded Samsung's. Analysts point to the "innovator's dilemma" to explain Samsung's miss: its vast, successful business portfolio made it risk-averse, preventing an all-in bet on the initially niche HBM technology. In contrast, SK Hynix, as a challenger with its back against the wall, had no choice but to commit fully. The story highlights how Korea's chaebol system allows for ultra-long-term bets beyond quarterly pressures. However, SK Hynix's lead isn't guaranteed. Samsung is aggressively catching up on HBM4, and challenges like customer concentration (heavy reliance on NVIDIA) and technical hurdles in advanced packaging remain. The narrative underscores a market truth: the greatest alpha often comes from betting on uncertain, long-term directions others dismiss, much like HBM in 2008.

marsbit56m ago

The King of Blind Date Attire in Korea: How SK Hynix Made a Comeback Against Samsung?

marsbit56m ago

Trading

Spot

Futures