Yat Siu, executive chairman of Animoca Brands, delivered a stark warning at the Global Digital Asset Forum in Vienna: if Europe does not develop its own stablecoin infrastructure, it risks becoming a dollar colony. His keynote focused on the rapid growth of US dollar-pegged stablecoins and the lack of a credible euro-denominated alternative.
Siu projects that stablecoin transaction volumes will hit $33 trillion in 2025, rivaling the combined GDP of the US and China. The vast majority of that volume flows through dollar-pegged tokens like USDT and USDC. Despite having the world's most comprehensive crypto regulatory framework with MiCA, Europe has yet to produce a widely adopted euro stablecoin.
Siu framed this as a sovereignty issue. If dollar stablecoins become the default for European digital commerce, the European Central Bank's monetary policy tools could become less effective. He also highlighted Animoca Brands' partnership with Standard Chartered to develop a stablecoin initiative within established regulatory frameworks.
The forum coincided with the VI3NNA Congress, signaling Vienna's ambitions as a policy hub for digital assets. Discussions covered stablecoins, tokenization, and the infrastructure needed for Europe's digital asset market.