Reference Message Network reported on April 27 that French weekly newspaper Le Point published an article titled "Facing the United States, Europe is Refining its Digital Euro Project" on its website on April 20. The author is Robin Rivaton, and the content is as follows: With the euro-to-dollar exchange rate rising to a new high, rejuvenating itself, the European Central Bank believes that the introduction of a digital euro will enhance the EU's strategic autonomy. After two years of investigation, the preparation phase was launched in November 2023. Its goal is to provide the eurozone with a central bank digital currency that individuals and enterprises can use online or offline for free, with high security and confidentiality. The core motivation behind this approach is to reduce dependence on American payment systems - whether it be Visa, Mastercard, or PayPal and Apple Pay, which are capturing domestic market shares in cross-border payments within the eurozone. To address concerns from countries like Germany, where cash usage is habitual, the European Central Bank has clearly stated its determination to ensure that cash remains a widely available and accepted means of payment for all Europeans. Since the end of 2023, the EU has been working hard to formulate a rulebook, a unique set of technical specifications for payment service providers. This framework aims to ensure consistent user experience across the eurozone, promote competition, and reduce market fragmentation. In recent months, the rulebook drafting team has processed nearly 2000 comments, optimized the user experience, and established rules to prevent fraud and resolve disputes. This work will continue until 2025. The EU has just incorporated its regulatory requirements into the rulebook. The European Central Bank should decide by the end of the year whether it is ready to initiate the next phase of the digital euro project. Regardless, institutions in Frankfurt are actively promoting the project to various European countries. Recently, Piero Cipollone, a member of the European Central Bank's Executive Board, visited the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament, which has shown great interest in this project. Committee Chair Auror Larouche compared it to "creating large tech companies in Europe." Europe's approach contrasts sharply with the newly elected US administration, which issued a presidential executive order on January 23, 2025, halting all related work on the digital dollar. Washington is currently considering strategies around stablecoins. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that maintain value stability by being pegged to third-party assets, particularly US Treasury bonds. Treasury Secretary Scott Beasant supports this view, believing that stablecoins will help maintain the dominance of the US dollar. As of March this year, the market size of stablecoins was $235 billion. Admittedly, the euro currently accounts for only a small share of this market: 99.8% of stablecoins are denominated in US dollars. The US is taking swift action. On February 2, four US senators - including two Republicans and two Democrats - jointly submitted a legislative proposal called the "2025 Genius Act" (full name: "Guidance and Establishment of American Stablecoin National Innovation Act"). This bill was passed by the Senate Banking Committee in March. Meanwhile, a bipartisan proposed "Stablecoin Act" (a legislative proposal aimed at regulating stablecoins) was passed by the House Financial Institutions Committee in late March. Currently, the European Central Bank has not expressed intentions to use the digital euro for transactions outside of Europe, which could potentially undermine the dominance of the US dollar as the international settlement currency. In contrast, Asian countries hope to use digital currencies to settle oil purchases from Saudi Arabia. (Compiled/translated by Liu Zhuo) Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7497966711824744996/ Disclaimer: The article solely represents the views of the author. Please express your attitude by clicking the "Like/Dislike" buttons below.