ECB picks euro-denominated settlement over stablecoins as Pontes launches

Crypto Insight Summary: The European Central Bank (ECB) delivered its new Pontes Eurosystem rail on Monday, allowing banks to exclusively settle tokenized asset trades in money issued by the central bank, locking out privately issued stablecoins or bank deposits from the digital payment system. ECB President Christine Lagarde confirmed the launch following the Eurogroup meeting, with the president... Crypto Insight Analysis: Direction: Bearish USDC / Bearish USDT / Neutral BTC / Neutral ETH Impact: Minor Impact Horizon: Mid-term (1-8 weeks) Reasoning: ECB's new system reduces stablecoin adoption in Europe, but overall market impact is limited.