The digital asset market continues to exert direct pressure on the traditional banking system. Piero Cipollone, a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB), warned during the annual Federcasse meeting that the mass adoption of stablecoins could trigger a significant outflow of retail deposits from credit institutions.
According to the expert's estimates, banks are already losing fee income and control over payment data due to the rapid growth of mobile payment services. However, the threat from stablecoins represents the next, much more serious stage. If the popularity of algorithmically backed digital currencies continues to grow, banks risk losing a critically important source of liquidity—household deposits.
The Digital Euro as a Shield Against the Crypto Threat
Against this backdrop, Cipollone positions the digital euro (CBDC) as a strategic tool for preserving the role of public money in digital payments. According to him, the project will not only keep banks within the payment ecosystem but also provide the European Union with its own independent payment infrastructure. The statistics are alarming: currently, two-thirds of all card transactions in the euro area are processed through non-European systems, and this share is steadily growing.
Additional context: in 13 of the 21 countries in the currency bloc, there are no national card schemes at all, and more than half of the states lack domestic solutions for e-commerce. The ECB emphasizes that the digital euro, with its stipulated holding limits and lack of interest income, will not pose a threat to banking liquidity or financial stability.
Recall that on July 14, the ECB already selected 36 banks and payment companies to participate in the pilot project. The operational phase will begin in the second half of 2027 and will last 12 months.
My expert opinion: The ECB's initiative is not just an attempt to modernize the payment system but a direct response to the expansion of stablecoins. If banks cannot offer customers a competitive digital product with a government guarantee, we risk seeing accelerated disintermediation that would hit lending to the real economy. The digital euro is, in essence, a "vaccination" against the crypto threat, but its effectiveness will depend on how convenient and secure it is made for the mass user.