ECB President Christine Lagarde rejected euro-denominated stablecoins as Europe’s answer to the US GENIUS Act, even as stablecoins top $324 billion in market value. Lagarde said stablecoins would not strengthen the euro’s international role and could destabilize bank funding across the eurozone. Lagarde instead pointed to the Pontes pilot starting in September and the Appia roadmap to 2028 after 2024 trials settled about 1.6 billion euros across nine jurisdictions in 50 transactions.