Euroclear: Digital assets are reshaping capital markets; Europe must act now.

According to Mars Finance, Euroclear, the European clearing bank, warned at a hearing of the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs that Europe must act immediately to maintain its leading position in digital finance. The institution, which manages €41 trillion in assets, believes that digital assets are no longer just a theory, but a reality reshaping how businesses finance, trade, and invest. Since launching its D-FMI platform in 2023, Euroclear has assisted institutions such as the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in issuing digital bonds on the blockchain. Its latest project, PYTHAGORE, in cooperation with the Bank of France, will transform Europe's €350 billion NEU CP short-term bond market—Europe's largest short-term financing market—with a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The report points out that Europe needs to establish four pillars: a 24/7 sovereign euro settlement system, a revised DLT pilot mechanism, allowing digital securities to be used as collateral by the European Central Bank, and a unified cross-border legal framework. With increasing global competition, public-private sector collaboration will determine whether Europe can maintain its digital financial advantage.