Cryptomercantilism vs. Monetary Sovereignty:How stablecoin laws shape the battle for international monetary supremacy

The second Trump administration is openly promoting the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies, particularly stablecoins. Stablecoins are privately issued cryptocurrencies, <br/>whose value is pegged to official currencies such as the US dollar. This article asks how the EU and US-the issuers of the world’s two leading currencies-approach stablecoins through their respective legal frameworks. We contrast a US strategy of cryptomercantilism with an EU strategy of monetary sovereignty. These strategies yield legal frameworks that look similar on the surface but diverge sharply in substance. The US’s 2025 GENIUS Act aims to enhance the dollar's dominance in global payment systems and stimulate new demand for US assets, particularly government bonds. The EU’s 2024 MiCAR serves to safeguard the state’s ability to govern money. We conclude by discussing how the euro area and other countries can react to US cryptomercantilism, highlighting new challenges related to regulatory equivalence agreements and fungibility of tokens issued in different jurisdictions.