Block 1: Essential news
Mastercard ready to buy Zerohash for $2bn?
Mastercard is reportedly in advanced negotiations to acquire Zerohash, a startup specializing in crypto infrastructure (stablecoins, tokenization, cross-border payments, etc.) for an alleged $1.5bn to $2bn. Zerohash already collaborates with Morgan Stanley to enable crypto trading on E*Trade and is involved in several projects related to on-chain payments, notably via Chainlink. This acquisition would strengthen Mastercard's offensive in decentralized finance (DeFi) after losing the acquisition of BVNK to Coinbase. The stated objective is to become a key player in the crypto ecosystem while keeping a foot in regulation.
Consensys is reportedly aiming for an IPO with JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs
Ethereum giant Consensys, founded by Joseph Lubin, is actively preparing for an IPO, according to Axios. The deal, which has not yet been officially confirmed, would be supported by JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs and could become the largest IPO ever by a company native to the Ethereum ecosystem. Known for its MetaMask wallet and Infura and Linea services, Consensys would thus establish itself as a new crypto player to take the plunge into the public market, following in the footsteps of Coinbase, Circle, and Gemini. This would be a strategic IPO in a climate more favorable to crypto under the Trump administration, and at a time when traditional finance is increasingly building bridges with Web3.
Visa accelerates on stablecoins: four new tokens integrated into its network
Payment giant Visa continues its shift to Web3. After a successful pilot project, the firm has announced support for four new stablecoins, spread across four different blockchains and linked to two fiat currencies. These assets will be accepted and converted into more than 25 currencies, according to CEO Ryan McInerney. This decision is based on growing usage: card spending linked to stablecoins has quadrupled in one year. Visa already claims $140bn in crypto and stablecoin flows, and more than 130 active programs in 40 countries. This is a strong signal of adoption... and direct competition for central banks and traditional payment networks.
S&P downgrades Strategy to B-: too many bitcoins, not enough cash?
S&P Global has assigned a B- rating to Strategy's debt, citing liquidity fragility: the company holds 640,000 BTC, but its debts and interest are denominated in dollars. This monetary asymmetry worries analysts, especially in the event of a fall in BTC. Despite assets valued at over its debt ($8.21bn), S&P points to the risk of refinancing and frequent share issuances. A rating upgrade remains unlikely in the short term unless Strategy strengthens its dollar cash position and demonstrates resilience in the financial markets during periods of stress. MSTR shares are currently trading at $292, down 46% from their ATH.
Block 2: Crypto Analysis of the Week
In the corridors of the European Central Bank, a project has been underway since 2021: a paperless and metal-free euro, designed to circulate at the speed of a click, with the ambition of being as public, universal, and secure as the coin in your pocket. Code name: the digital euro.
The idea in a nutshell
It's digital cash. A "central bank digital currency" (CBDC) issued directly by the ECB. Legally, holding digital euros would be equivalent to holding banknotes and coins... but in dematerialized form. And unlike the money in your checking account (a claim on your bank, guaranteed up to €100,000), the digital euro would be a claim on the ECB itself—just like cash is today. The promised goal: a simple, instant, sometimes offline, and free means of payment for the end user.
In concrete terms, the digital euro would be a wallet (app) containing central bank money: legally, it is a liability of the ECB (like banknotes), usable for instant payments, potentially offline for small amounts, and without user fees. The money in your checking account, on the other hand, is a claim on your bank (bank money): you lend to your bank, covered by deposit insurance up to €100,000. In practice, the checking account retains all services (card, transfers, overdraft, possible interest), but its payments go through intermediaries and are not settled directly in central bank money. The digital euro would mainly be aimed at everyday payments (with a holding limit still to be set and, in principle, no interest).
Why now? Three strategic drivers
- Supporting the shift to all-digital. Cash is still an important means of payment in the euro area. In the euro area, just over half of transactions (52%) were paid for in cash in 2024, according to an ECB survey of 40,000 participants. However, this share is much lower in value terms, representing only 39% of transactions. Among the four largest EU economies, France is the only country below the euro area average of 52%, while Germany is slightly above at 53%. The digital euro aims to complement (not replace) cash so that everyone retains access to public currency in the age of apps.
Number of cash payments per EU country
Euronews
- European sovereignty. Today, a large proportion of card payments in Europe are processed through non-European networks, mainly Visa and Mastercard. When paying online, abroad, or via co-branded cards, transactions are often routed through international channels, which are predominantly American. An MNBC would offer a common payment infrastructure under European governance and a credible alternative to the rise of private dollar-backed stablecoins (USDT, USDC, etc.).
- Confidence in the euro. Faced with a proliferation of financial innovations, the ECB wants to anchor the euro in the digital world without giving up the attributes of cash: universal access, robustness, wide acceptance, and comparable confidentiality for small payments.
Where are we now? A realistic timetable
- 2021–2023: exploration phase, then transition to the preparatory phase (architecture, wallet prototypes, "rulebook," selection of suppliers).
- 2027 (target): pilot project with test transactions if the European legal framework is adopted in time.
- 2029 (at the earliest): "possible first issuance" on a large scale—subject to a favorable vote by Parliament and the Council and completion of technical preparations.
Costs: the ECB estimates the cost of development up to launch at around €1.3bn, followed by operating costs of around €320m per year from 2029. On the banking side, some federations estimate that adapting systems will cost up to €18bn; the ECB disputes this and puts the figure at €4bn-€6bn net thanks to synergies and pooling. As with banknotes, the Eurosystem would finance its share through seigniorage (income from money issuance).
In concrete terms, what does this mean for you?
You would have a digital euro wallet (in your bank's app, La Poste's app, or an approved provider's app), which can be used online and offline for small amounts. You pay a merchant, reimburse a friend, receive a government refund: the transfer is made in central bank money, in a matter of seconds, potentially 24/7, with an experience similar to an “instant transfer/card,” but at no cost to you.
Safeguards that anger (and reassure)
Holding limit. To prevent a massive outflow of deposits from banks, the ECB is planning a per-person limit—often mentioned as around €3,000. The message is clear: the digital euro is for everyday payments, not for emptying your savings account. For banks, it is a firewall against disintermediation. For some citizens, it is frustrating: direct access to central bank money would remain limited.
Privacy. Cash is anonymous; digital currency is not by nature. The intended compromise is based on enhanced confidentiality, areas of anonymity for small offline payments, advanced encryption, and a separation of roles so that the ECB cannot see your purchases. It's a strong promise... but its credibility will depend on the technical details and audits.
Interoperability and acceptance. To be successful, the digital euro must be accepted everywhere, work with existing rails (cards, instant transfers, QR, etc.) and not complicate life for merchants. This is the whole purpose of the rules currently being finalized with banks, PSPs, and distribution networks.
Serious criticisms that should not be dismissed
"What's the point?" Many Europeans already pay with their phones. If the experience is not better in terms of simplicity, ubiquity, and privacy protection, adoption will remain sluggish—a risk highlighted by polls and banks.
"Big Brother?" NGOs and data protection authorities warn that a poorly designed CBI could become a tool for surveillance or behavior programming. The European project promises the opposite; it will have to prove it.
"It's going to cost a fortune." Behind the potential ceiling of €3,000 per person lies a key issue: preventing the digital euro from becoming a "deposit vacuum" to the detriment of commercial banks.
Today, your checking account is not "ECB cash": it is a claim on your bank. These demand deposits are the main source of financing, inexpensive and relatively stable, which allows banks to grant loans to the real economy. If a significant portion of these deposits migrates to digital euro portfolios, guaranteed by the Central Bank and perceived as safer, banks will lose a source of cheap funding. They would then have to refinance elsewhere: on the markets (bonds, secured securities), with the ECB, or by raising deposit rates to encourage you to stay. In any case, the cost of financing rises, intermediation margins are squeezed, and, mechanically, credit becomes either scarcer or more expensive.
This risk has two sides. Under normal circumstances, even a few percentage points of transferred deposits would be enough to strain balance sheets: on the scale of a large country, this quickly amounts to tens or even hundreds of billions of euros that must be replaced with more expensive resources. In a crisis, the danger is more acute: a digital "flight to quality," 24 hours a day and instantaneous, where individuals and businesses transfer part of their cash holdings to the ECB with a few clicks. In other words, a bank run at the speed of light. It is this scenario that the authorities want to neutralize: the holding limit restricts the amount of digital euros that each person can store, the idea of disincentive remuneration above a certain threshold (e.g., zero interest or a rate lower than that of bank deposits) reduces the appeal of leaving large amounts there, and so-called "waterfall" mechanisms can automatically return the excess to your traditional bank account. In addition, there are operational limits for offline use to prevent very large flows from temporarily escaping controls.
Even with these safeguards, disintermediation does not disappear completely: it is contained and controlled. Banks would retain most of their transactional deposits, but at the cost of new competition from a form of central bank money that has become accessible to the general public. They will have to adapt: offer better returns on certain liquid assets, diversify their resources, and, on the payments side, review a business model that also relies on commissions and customer data. If, in the future, some transactions are carried out via a public rail in central bank money, interchange fees and friction rents will decline, and the informational advantage banks have over their customers' flows could erode depending on the architecture chosen. Hence, mirroring this, the authorities' promise: the digital euro will remain a means of everyday payment, not a new savings account guaranteed by the ECB. The balance to be struck is clear: attractive enough to offer a modern and resilient public good, but not so attractive as to destabilize the banks' ability to finance the economy.
Behind the technical plumbing lies a monetary and strategic challenge: as dollar-denominated stablecoins become established in global payments and other powers test their CBDCs, the digital euro is Europe's attempt not to leave the future of currency—and payment rails—to Big Tech and rival jurisdictions.
Cryptocurrency rankings (Click to enlarge)
Block 3: Readings of the week
Donald Trump's company Truth Social launches a competitor to Polymarket (Wired)
How Trump's companies made $1 billion from cryptocurrencies (FT)
