Trump Pro-Crypto Policy Could Trigger Global Financial Crisis: ECB Official

The Trump administration’s pro-crypto agenda risks “sowing the seeds” of a financial crisis, according to a top European Central Bank official.

In an interview with French weekly La Tribune Dimanchei, François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Bank of France and member of the European Central Bank’s Governing Council, argued that the U.S. “risks sinning through negligence.”

Villeroy de Galhau argued that, “by encouraging crypto assets and non-bank finance,” the Trump administration “is sowing the seeds of future upheavals,” adding that financial crises “often originate in the United States and spread to the rest of the world.”

His admonitions echo a previous warning from sixteen Nobel Economists who claimed in June last year that Trump’s “fiscally irresponsible budgets” could “reignite” inflation and broader economic instability. Villeroy de Galhau argued that Trump pursues a “false vision” in which the global economy functions as a “zero-sum game,” calling on Europe to “strengthen” its negotiating position.

Earlier this year, the ECB announced a two-phase digital payments infrastructure initiative, under which it plans to  explore “a more integrated, long-term solution” for settlements of central bank money-denominated transactions on a blockchain. The initiative would lay the groundwork for a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Trump’s crypto agenda

In the lead-up to and after the U.S. elections, President Donald Trump has vowed, acted, and worked on his administration’s promises to embrace and bolster the country’s leadership in crypto and digital assets.

In its first couple of months, the Trump administration has established a crypto council, a Presidential Working Group on digital assets, worked to pass crucial crypto bills, signed an executive order to establish a Bitcoin Reserve, hosted the inaugural crypto summit at the White House, and promised to end Biden-era crypto banking rules, among other moves that have boosted the profile of the crypto industry.

Trump’s pro-crypto push has failed to shore up the crypto market, though, with both Bitcoin and U.S. equities rattled by market volatility sparked by his economic agenda. Following Trump’s threat to impose 200% tariffs on European spirits on Thursday last week, the S&P 500 plummeted more than 10% from its February high, reporting from Reuters indicates.

Bitcoin, at the time, tumbled to $81,600—down 25% from a January peak of $109,000. On the same day, crypto markets saw liquidations of over $1 billion, with analysts pointing to risk aversion across global markets and escalating U.S. tariff disputes as key drivers.