European Lawmakers Stays Mum on US Bitcoin Reserve as Digital Euro Plans Continue There has been no response to the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve order from European lawmakers, even as the European Central Bank (ECB) continues with its plans for a digital euro launch in October 2025. US President Donald Trump’s executive order on March 7 established a Bitcoin reserve out of cryptocurrency seized in criminal investigations instead of purchasing Bitcoin in the market. The policy aims to enhance the US’s standing on digital assets while reducing reliance on fiat reserves. Since the implications of the move, European policymakers have remained relatively quiet on making major public statements on Bitcoin reserves. This quiet has raised concerns about whether the EU will take action towards treating BTC as a national reserve asset. Europe’s quiet can be explained by the complicated legislative process of adding new reserve assets, Anastasija Plotnikova, co-founder and CEO of blockchain regulatory firm Fideum, said. “Usually, there is quite a clear legislative or executive process in the addition of different assets to national treasuries,” Plotnikova explained. “The ECB previously and today remains extremely doubtful of BTC as a reserve asset, effectively shutting down such projects in EU member states.” Digital Euro Push Raises Payment Infrastructure Concerns The EU’s motives for implementing the digital euro can explain its reticence concerning Trump’s instruction of Bitcoin reserves. James Wo, founder and CEO of venture capital firm DFG, has said that ECB’s adamant disagreement with Bitcoin being in national reserves is in tune with its wider digital currency policy. This refers to the EU’s greater emphasis on the digital euro,” Wo explained. “But the recent Target 2 (T2) payment system breakdown at the ECB, which caused severe delays in transactions, has raised doubts about its ability to handle a digital currency when it is struggling to handle day-to-day affairs.” Digital Euro Ready for October 2025 Launch Despite Doubts In spite of continued doubts, ECB President Christine Lagarde is moving ahead with the introduction of the digital euro, scheduled for October 2025. She has reiterated that the CBDC will coexist with cash and has promised to address privacy issues. “The European Union plans to launch the digital euro, our central bank digital currency, in October this year,” Lagarde said. “We are working to ensure the digital euro coexists with cash, and to respond to privacy concerns by making the digital euro pseudonymous and cash-like.” Diverging US-EU Approaches to Digital Assets The US and EU are adopting divergent strategies regarding digital assets. While Trump is heading towards adopting Bitcoin reserves, the EU is focusing on a centralized digital euro. Critics have pointed out that CBDCs, while likely to enhance financial inclusion, also pose risks regarding government control and surveillance. In July 2023, the central bank of Brazil released the source code of its CBDC pilot, revealing mechanisms that would allow authorities to freeze or even reduce user funds in digital wallets. The discovery elicited criticism about potential abuse and government overreach in CBDC implementations. Though the US and EU are taking different paths to digital currency, their eventual impacts are unknown. Will the European fixation on the digital euro damage European competitiveness in the world of crypto in the future? Or will the Bitcoin reserve strategy be the winner in the long run? Only time will reveal.
