The Italian Minister of Economy and Finance, Giancarlo Giorgetti, has turned the spotlight on a silent but potentially devastating threat for Europe: the United States digital stablecoins (USA), better known as stablecoin.
“`
In a global context already strained by trade tensions and tariffs between economic powers, Giorgetti did not hesitate to declare that the potential impact of stablecoin issued by the United States could be “much more dangerous” than the current tariff policies imposed by Washington.
The words of the minister came on the occasion of a meeting of the G7 Finance ministers, a summit that was held in Stresa, Italy.
During the talks, Giorgetti emphasized how the unregulated spread of U.S. stablecoins represents a concrete risk to the European monetary sovereignty, particularly to the integrity and stability of the euro.
The alarm from Italy by Minister Giorgetti: the invisible danger of USA stablecoin
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value, usually pegged to valute fiat like the dollar.
In recent years, their use has expanded well beyond U.S. borders, fueling concerns among European governments regarding the excessive dependence on the dollar even in digital markets.
According to Giorgetti, the most unsettling aspect is not related to the technology itself, but to the fact that these coins could be used on a large scale within the European Union, gradually eroding the role of the euro as the dominant currency on the continent.
The massive circulation of dollar-linked stablecoins, warns the minister, risks “displacing” the euro, especially in those contexts where digital currency becomes a widespread means of payment.
In his speech at the G7, Giorgetti compared two seemingly distinct phenomena, but equally impactful: the imposition of customs duties by the United States and the uncontrolled spread of their stable digital currencies.
The conclusion is clear: while tariffs are visible economic measures, which can be negotiated and against which commercial countermeasures can be built, stablecoins “can silently infiltrate financial systems”.
The implication is that, if not regulated, stablecoins could act as vehicles of “digital dollarization” of the European economy.
Thus progressively shifting power and financial control across the ocean, in a way less evident but far more insidious than any tariff measure.
The statement by the Italian minister struck a nerve among the other participants at the summit as well. The topic of regulation of digital currencies is now becoming central in global debates, especially at the G7 and G20 meetings.
But Italy’s call resonates as an encouragement to abandon the wait-and-see approach to adopt concrete strategies for the control and supervision of new digital financial instruments.
A supervision still absent: the regulatory void
According to Giorgetti, Europe must be ready to defend its currency with regulatory measures that prevent “competitive distortions and economic imbalances” resulting from the uncontrolled use of stablecoins linked to the dollar.
A common action by the G7 countries, focused on defining shared rules, is considered essential to contain the risks and responsibly manage the growth of valute digitali globali.
The rise of stablecoins highlights a paradox: innovations spreading at breakneck speeds in markets where regulatory authorities are still lagging behind.
In Europe, the regulatory framework on criptovalute is still under development, and does not fully cover the implications of the use of stablecoins on a supranational scale.
According to Giorgetti, this regulatory gap constitutes a “weak point” that could be exploited by private or foreign public issuers.
And when these instruments are linked to powers like the United States, the geopolitical effect becomes inevitable.
The risk, according to the minister, is to underestimate the potential influence that the USA can exert on the management of currency in Europe simply by expanding the use of the dollar through digital channels.
The invitation to Brussels: ready to intervene
Given the strategic weight of the issue, Giorgetti has issued a clear call to the European Commission and the competent bodies of the Union: do not remain spectators.
It is urgent to equip ourselves with legislative tools capable of anticipating the market and protecting the central values of the economic and political autonomy of the Eurozone.
Sources close to the Italian executive confirm that the topic of digital monetary sovereignty has now firmly entered the government’s economic agenda.
Proof of this is the support for the creation of a European Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), which can serve as an alternative to American stablecoins, providing users with a secure, controllable, and EU-compliant tool.
The warning from Giancarlo Giorgetti urges Europe not to be caught off guard by a change that has already begun. The challenge of stablecoin is not a futuristic issue, but an urgency of the present.
In the face of the growing influence of the digital dollar, the European economy must assert its independence by safeguarding the central role of the euro even in the new global technological-financial ecosystem.
Renouncing to govern these processes would mean accepting a form of invisible economic domination, but deep and persistent.
Europe, states Giorgetti, has the expertise and resources to respond in a firm and constructive manner. Now, only the political will to act is needed.
