U.S. policy on stablecoins more dangerous than tariffs, Italian minister says

By Giuseppe Fonte

ROME (Reuters) - U.S. argumentation connected stablecoins offers European citizens an charismatic outgo method for cross-border transactions which should trigger much interest than commercialized tariffs, Italy's system curate said connected Tuesday.

Addressing an lawsuit successful Milan connected plus management, Giancarlo Giorgetti said European Union authorities should follow further steps to boost the presumption of the euro arsenic an planetary notation currency and complained astir the fragmentation of the EU's outgo industry.

U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to overhaul rules connected cryptocurrencies and reverse a crackdown connected the assemblage that took spot nether his predecessor Joe Biden.

Dollar-pegged stablecoins, which are a benignant of cryptocurrencies designed to support a changeless value, person ballooned successful caller years.

They present enactment arsenic a cardinal cog successful the multi-trillion dollar crypto trading industry, helping determination funds betwixt antithetic cryptocurrencies oregon into regular cash.

"The wide absorption these days is connected the interaction of commercialized tariffs. However, adjacent much unsafe is the caller U.S. argumentation connected cryptocurrencies and successful peculiar that connected dollar-denominated stablecoins," Giorgetti said.

The curate argued that stablecoins would springiness savers the accidental to put successful risk-free assets and a wide accepted means of outgo for cross-border transactions, without immoderate request for a banking relationship with U.S. banks.

"It is truthful casual to foresee their attractiveness for citizens of economies with unstable currencies, but its entreaty for radical of the euro portion should not beryllium underestimated," Giorgetti said.

To beforehand European sovereignty successful payments and support the relation of fiat currencies against the dispersed of stablecoins, the European Central Bank (ECB) is moving connected the alleged integer euro.

The task envisages EU residents having integer euro accounts with the ECB which they tin usage for online payments oregon successful shop, oregon to speech wealth with friends acknowledgment to the ECB partnering with EU-based outgo services providers.

"The integer euro volition beryllium indispensable to minimise the request for European citizens to edifice to overseas solutions to entree specified a basal work arsenic payment," Giorgetti said.

European banks person expressed concerns that a integer euro would bare their coffers arsenic customers transportation immoderate of their currency to the information of an ECB-guaranteed wallet.

(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte; editing by Giles Elgood)