Europe eyes layered digital money

France’s finance minister said on April 17 that Europe needs more euro-based stablecoins, and he urged banks to explore tokenised deposits. (msn.com) Roland Lescure made the call in pre-recorded remarks at a crypto conference in Paris, according to Reuters. He said euro-denominated digital money should not be left to non-European players. (msn.com) A stablecoin is a digital token designed to hold a fixed value against a currency such as the euro. A tokenised deposit is bank money put onto a distributed ledger, so the claim stays on a bank rather than on a separate issuer. (imf.org) (banque-france.fr) European officials are increasingly describing those instruments as part of a two-layer system, with central-bank money as the base and private money on top. European Central Bank board member Piero Cipollone said on March 23 that “private settlement assets – whether tokenised deposits or stablecoins – will play a role” alongside a public anchor. (ecb.europa.eu) That public anchor is the digital euro, which the European Central Bank describes as a digital form of cash for people across the euro area. The bank says it is being designed to complement notes and coins, not replace them. (ecb.europa.eu) The European Central Bank moved the project into a preparation phase on November 1, 2023, after an investigation phase that ran from October 2021 to October 2023. Its latest progress pages say the work continues in parallel with European Union legislation that would be needed before any launch decision. (ecb.europa.eu 1) (ecb.europa.eu 2) Europe already has a rulebook for private issuers. The Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation started applying stablecoin rules on June 30, 2024, requiring authorization for issuers of euro-linked e-money tokens and other covered instruments. (esma.europa.eu) (ashurst.com) The push comes as European officials warn that dollar stablecoins dominate the market. In a July 2025 blog post, the European Central Bank said stablecoins are growing globally “with the US dollar at the helm” and said Europe risks losing monetary sovereignty without a response. (ecb.europa.eu) The wholesale side is moving too. On March 11, the Eurosystem said its Pontes project will launch in the third quarter of 2026 to settle distributed-ledger transactions in central-bank money, while its Appia initiative is meant to help build a broader European tokenised-finance ecosystem. (ecb.europa.eu 1) (ecb.europa.eu 2) Banque de France’s market infrastructure group said in a March 2026 note that tokenised settlement assets include tokenised deposits, deposit tokens and stablecoins, and it set out joint priorities for public and private actors. Lescure’s remarks fit that direction: public digital euros at the core, with regulated private euro instruments built around them. (banque-france.fr)