CoinShares Says Dollar Goes On-Chain While Euro Stays in Committees, Widening Gap

Analysis suggests the gap between the U.S. dollar's and the euro's on-chain ecosystems is widening.

In a report published on Oct. 2, Christopher Bendiksen, head of research at CoinShares, wrote that technology and regulation in the U.S. are increasingly moving in the same direction. In the past, the question was how many digital assets could be inserted into the existing financial system. Now, he said, the focus has shifted to how much of the financial system itself can be moved onto blockchain infrastructure.

Europe, by contrast, is focused on applying blockchain while preserving the existing financial system. As Bendiksen put it, Europe is asking how blockchain can improve the current financial system, while the U.S. is asking whether the financial system itself should be moved onto blockchain.

He said the gap is particularly striking in the stablecoin market. Dollar-based stablecoin supply has exceeded $300 billion, while euro-based stablecoin supply remains below $1 billion.

"While Europe has spent years discussing how to build a digital euro, private markets have built a global digital distribution network for the dollar," Bendiksen wrote. He added that Europe should ask whether anyone outside the region will still be waiting for a perfectly designed digital euro once it is complete.