The digital euro, on which the European Central Bank is expected to decide shortly, will not be a success, according to Casper de Vries, Professor Emeritus of monetary economics at Erasmus School of Economics. He considers the project above all too late. ‘Stablecoins, pegged to the dollar, will rapidly gain ground in international payments. As a result, the euro has missed an opportunity to become the leading means of payment,’ says De Vries.
As early as 2019, he argued in a report for the Scientific Council for Government Policy in favour of a public alternative alongside commercial banks. A digital euro could have allowed citizens to hold money directly at the central bank, thereby increasing competition. But the way the project is currently being designed is disappointing.
According to De Vries, the currency is unattractive for consumers. Balances will be limited to just a few thousand euros, no interest will be paid, and saving will not be possible. ‘It will therefore only be useful for small payments in shops or as pocket money for children,’ he says.
He fears the project will end in an expensive failure. ‘If the digital euro does not take off, we will have set up something very costly for nothing.’ With this, De Vries echoes wider concerns. Former Dutch Central Bank director Lex Hoogduin also warns that there is no urgent need for such a currency and that the project could develop into a tool for unwanted control.
- Professor
- More information
You can read the article from De Telegraaf, 27 September 2025, above, in which De Vries makes his statements (In Dutch).
Furthermore, De Vries was present in other items regarding this topic.
You can listen to the podcast of BNR Nieuwsradio, 24 September 2025, here.(In Dutch)
You can read the article from Volkskrant, 25 September 2025, here. (In Dutch)
For more information, please contact Ronald de Groot, Media & Public Relations Officer at Erasmus School of Economics: rdegroot@ese.eur.nl, +31 6 53 641 846.
