The need for Europe to speed up its initiatives in the field of digital funding, forming a common European framework for the conversion of financial assets, such as bonds and deposits, into a digital tokenization, stressed by the Minister of National Economy and Finance and President of Eurogroup Kyriakos Pierrakakis, in the debate on the future of digital funding in Europe held at the EU conferenceEuropean Central Bank in Frankfurt.
During the debate it emerged the need to avoid a new fragmentation of the single market, as today the Member States are moving forward at different speeds in identifying and exploiting digital financial instruments and assets that have been converted into tokens (tokenized).
Mr Pierrakakis stressed that Europe should move coordinated and develop a common vocabulary and a common strategic direction so that digital funding is part of the wider European competitiveness agenda. At the same time, it pointed out the need for the European Union to have one. clear and ambitious vision for the future of financial markets, following the example of other major economies, such as the United States, which have already presented integrated strategies for the use of new technologies.
The Minister stressed that Europe cannot remain stagnant in an environment that is changing rapidly, noting that international developments, including rapid growth in the market of stablecoins in the United States, they make it imperative to speed up European initiatives.
Mr Pierrakakis also stood by the importance of cybersecurity, stressing that it is an increasingly important factor in the new digital reality.
With regard to the rapid developments in the field of the artificial intelligence, noted that the public debate may today focus on a particular model, but in a few months the focus will already have shifted. Which shows that Europe should not be caught up in individual technological developments, but focus on the overall picture.
As he pointed out, "if we focus exclusively on a large language model (LLM), it means we see the tree and lose the forest". For this reason, he added, it is crucial that Europe acquire control and ownership of the necessary digital infrastructure, as the issue is not only economic but also concerns European sovereignty.
"It is extremely important to have the infrastructure of this sector in our possession. This is not just an economic issue. This is also a question of sovereignty, but also a question of developing innovations on it." said about it. Referring to the process of converting financial assets into tokenization, the Minister clarified that "It is not a new category of investment products, but a new level of financial infrastructure that is expected to transform the way the markets operate."
As noted, as these deposits, investment funds and other financial products develop, demand for high quality collateral will inevitably increase. In this new environment, States will not participate solely for innovation purposes, but because markets themselves will require the availability of zero risk assets in tokens form.
Mr Pierrakakis also stressed that the common approach developed in the Eurogroup, under the guidance of the European Central Bank, as well as the formation of a collectively agreed common vocabulary, are crucial preconditions for the success of the project. ‘We must move quickly’, He ended up.