L’Euro digitale come strumento di politica monetaria innovativa e i suoi rapporti con le criptovalute

This paper analyzes the introduction of the digital euro as an innovative monetary policy tool, outlining its evolutionary framework in light of the ongoing European legislative procedure, expected to conclude by 2026 with potential issuance no earlier than 2029. The analysis focuses on three structural challenges the project must overcome to achieve legitimacy. First, it examines the risk of banking disintermediation, which can be mitigated through quantitative holding limits (estimated around 3,000 EUR), the adoption of "waterfall" and "reverse waterfall" mechanisms, and the exclusion of interest remuneration. Second, it addresses the critical issue of data protection, highlighting the fundamental distinction between the offline mode — capable of replicating physical cash anonymity without intermediaries — and the online mode, which faces greater scrutiny from the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS). Finally, the study situates the digital euro within the context of global geopolitical competition, contrasting the European strategy of strategic autonomy with US "crypto-mercantilism." While the EU pursues a sovereign public solution, the US administration, through initiatives like the "GENIUS Act," promotes dollar-pegged private stablecoins to consolidate global currency hegemony and US public debt demand. The paper concludes by highlighting legislative divergences between the Council and the European Parliament — particularly regarding the priority of the offline version and holding limits — and defines the digital euro as a decisive test of the Union's political will to pursue authentic monetary sovereignty.