Antonio Eram

Most crypto exchanges in Europe won’t survive MiCA - only about 100 out of 5,000 will. At Simplify Labs, we’re building MiCA-ready infrastructure for licensed platforms like RX in Malta - with full compliance, fiat onramps, crypto cards, and modular tech built for regulation. Compliance is the new moat. Listen here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dv7v6_Rn with Sam Kamani

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Thanks, Jean-Michel Azzopardi ₿, for sharing this - PSD2 didn’t replace banks, it reshaped the ecosystem around them. We’re now seeing the next step in Europe’s thinking: policymakers want less dependence on non-EU card networks like Visa and Mastercard, while consumers still expect frictionless checkout. Convenience remains king - regulation doesn’t change user behaviour. (https://lnkd.in/euedZRMb?) That’s exactly where account-to-account models fit. Open Banking, combined with Instant SEPA payments, offers compliant, real-time, and user-friendly transactions without relying on card rails. And considering that roughly half of card payments today are online purchases, e-commerce is the natural starting point for these workflows. (https://lnkd.in/e8UfsdEF) Frameworks create standards → standards enable alternatives → alternatives drive adoption. #PSD2 #OpenBanking #InstantPayments #Fintech #A2A

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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗶𝗻 Citi has joined a group of nine European lenders, including ING, UniCredit, and DekaBank, developing a regulated 𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗶𝗻, aiming for launch in 2026. The project's goal is to create a 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 to the US-dominated stablecoin market and strengthen the euro's role in digital payments. It's a notable shift. For the first time, a major US bank is backing a euro-denominated digital currency effort, and doing so within a regulated European framework. The addition by #𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗶 changes the narrative from competition between "banks and crypto" to collaboration between 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻. If #𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘀 gain adoption, they could: 🔵 Reinforce Europe's 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘁𝘆 by reducing dependence on USD liquidity in digital markets. 🟢 Provide 𝗼𝗻-𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 for tokenised assets, complementing projects like the digital euro. 🟠 Enable 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 between banks and fintechs, moving towards 24/7 programmable finance. At present, euro #stablecoins make up less than 𝟬.𝟮% 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. This is roughly $477M compared to $300B in USD-pegged tokens. #MiCA has addressed the regulatory debate. What remains is the race to build the infrastructure that will determine whether Europe closes the gap. #𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱

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A new era for the digital euro? A consortium of nine European banks, (including ING, UniCredit, Banca Sella, KBC, SEB, DekaBank, Danske Bank, CaixaBank, and Raiffeisen Bank International) have formed a company in the Netherlands to launch a euro-backed stablecoin, under the supervision of the Dutch Central Bank A move they hope will help counter U.S. digital market dominance. Why it matters: Could bring greater financial autonomy for Europe, reducing dollar dependence A regulated, euro-denominated blockchain payment option Fits right into the EU’s crypto-asset regulatory framework Now a more interesting question, how will this euro stablecoin compete with the existing dollar-denominated stablecoins like USDT/USDC? Up until now the competition has been a bit like David vs. Goliath: with $620M in euro vs. $300B in dollar stablecoins. I’ve elaborated why Euro stablecoins don’t fly in my other post: https://lnkd.in/ebZtEu7T Europe seems to be under particular pressure as it must not only compete (or risk being left behind) but also define its own role and assert its monetary sovereignty in the age of stablecoins.

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Stablecoins are to payments what WhatsApp was to SMS. Twenty years ago, I cofounded Mobile365, a mobile message hub. Back then, telcos had the monopoly. You paid for every SMS, messages took time to send, and contacting someone abroad cost even more. Then came WhatsApp. Its first real use case was international messaging. For someone like me, always on the move, it was a breakthrough. Telcos didn’t believe in it. They looked down on it, convinced it was a niche product. Today, I use WhatsApp every day, even for local calls and messages. International payments are following the same path. Three days of waiting, fees at every step, and a long chain of intermediaries. Banks and payment networks hold the same kind of monopoly telcos once had. But the same shift is happening. Stablecoins are dollars that move like WhatsApp messages. Instant, global, and far cheaper. They’re starting with international use cases, but once habits take hold, how long before domestic ones follow? The same story is playing out again. The question is whether banks will learn from what happened to telcos.

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