The Digital Euro From a Geopolitical Perspective: Will Europe Lag Behind?*

Abstract

The digital euro is not a monolithic project. On the contrary, the application fields are broad, and possible solutions are diverse. This chapter provides an overview of use cases, application domains, and infrastructures for the digital euro that differ significantly. A comparison with solutions for the digital dollar and the digital yuan leads to the conclusion that, in the most extreme case, the euro could become a regional currency for Europe. The main reason for this argument is the design and prioritization of current approaches within Europe as well as the European Central Bank’s digital euro project, and that stablecoin approaches seem to be neglected as solutions for the digital euro.