The European Central Bank published a blog post about the hazards of dollar-backed stablecoins yesterday, the same day that PayPal flipped on crypto-payments to everyone on its network globally, with fees just under 1%.

Why it matters: Stablecoins are a genie that's left the proverbial bottle, and dollar-denominated products in the world outnumber the euro kind 99 to 1.

Threat level: "Should U.S. dollar stablecoins become widely used in the euro area — whether for payments, savings or settlement — the ECB's control over monetary conditions could be weakened," Jürgen Schaaf, an adviser to the central bank, writes in the post.

• "There is certainly no room for complacency," he says. (A generic disclaimer on the post notes that the author's views may not necessarily represent the views of the ECB.)

Zoom in: Schaaf's post explores the potential repercussions for Europe if some enterprises on the continent find they want to turn to dollar-backed stablecoins for some purposes.

Between the lines: Schaaf notes that the U.S.' recently signed stablecoin law is projected to supercharge supply growth from USD 230 billion this year to USD 2 trillion by the end of 2028.

• In the post, though he suggests that more support could be provided for euro-backed stablecoins, Schaaf focuses more on control of the system rather than just its growth.
• He suggests that Europe's CBDC project and private sector innovations could help blunt the role of dollar-backed stablecoins in European digital payments and called for stronger global coordination on stablecoin regulation.

The rest of the world isn't waiting. PayPal announced "Pay With Crypto" yesterday, a global system for PayPal users to make payments in any number of cryptocurrencies, settled to fiat or stablecoins, with merchants worldwide.

• In its announcement, PayPal acknowledged that its U.S. regulators might call a halt to the product, which only encapsulates what American firms understand: Choosing between a scolding and losing market share is no choice at all.
• Even the European continent's one big win, Stripe, the payments giant, is all-in on dollar-backed stablecoins.

What we’re hearing: "The ability to settle instantly, manage FX in real time, and access global liquidity without relying on a single banking partner is simply too powerful to ignore,' Ran Goldi, senior vice president of Payments & Network at Fireblocks, a digital asset infrastructure company, said in a statement shared with Axios following the PayPal announcement.

• "I suspect we will see more large incumbents stepping in aggressively in the next 6-9 months."

Zoom out: Stablecoins are just the latest technology sector where the U.S. is leaving the EU so far behind that it's as if the continent skipped the race.

The bottom line: U.S. companies move forward as Europe frets.

The price of ether (ETH), the coin of the realm for Ethereum, the blockchain that popularized smart contracts, is up 100% over the last 90 days, but it can't quite seem to break through the $4,000 price barrier.

Why it matters: True believers remain long-suffering loyalists, because unlike other majors out there, ether hasn't notched a new all-time high since its last ebullient moment, in late 2021.

• In fact, it hasn't even broken its high price for December 2024, at $4,013. Even now, ether is about 22% off its old record of $4,878.
• The price this morning is $3,748.

Context: Rising over 100% in three months is great news for anyone who started dollar-cost averaging into major cryptocurrencies this year.

• But it's also true that ETH's growth, even with the recent surge, has been lackluster for those who've been in for many years now.

What we're watching: Options.

• There are more than twice as many calls on ETH now than there are puts, suggesting the market thinks the price is going up from here.
• The most popular call price by far right now is that nice round figure of $4,000. After that, the bets are roughly equally divided among $4,200, $5,000 and $6,000.

By the numbers: Coinshares reports that ETH saw its second strongest week ever for flows into its ETF products last week, at $1.59 billion. The best week was the week before that, with $2.1 billion, topping bitcoin flows both weeks.

Between the lines: If the market really is poised to go hard into bets on alternative cryptocurrencies, many of the classic alt coins live on that blockchain, which turns 10 years old tomorrow.

• Ethereum remains the favorite place for doing big business in stablecoins.
• And business in stablecoins is expected to swiftly pick up with a law on the books.

The bottom line: There are good signals for ETH all around at the moment. It's just been a poky little puppy.

Who owns your financial data: you or your bank? That question is at the heart of a debate pitting crypto platforms against some of the world's largest financial institutions.

Why it matters: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau created a rule to ensure that consumers and authorized third parties have access to their financial data.

• But some banks, led by JPMorgan, are challenging that.

Driving the news: The Financial Technology Association and several crypto trade groups, including the Blockchain Association and the Digital Chamber, sent a letter last week urging the Trump administration to uphold consumers' data rights.

• It was sent in part as a response to JPMorgan's decision to begin charging fintech companies fees for accessing customer data.

What they're saying: "This is not a partisan issue. It's about preserving fair competition, consumer choice, and American leadership in financial innovation," the groups wrote, characterizing the bank's fees as a form of "debanking."

• "This is not a one-time policy update. It's a structural shift that reveals something fundamental about where the legacy financial system is headed," Kraken CEO Arjun Sethi said on social media.

The intrigue: Last week, Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss accused JPMorgan of blocking his crypto exchange from re-onboarding customers after he criticized the bank's new data fees.

Context: The CFPB has faced ongoing tension with the Department of Government Efficiency over its regulatory authority this year.

• The agency has also rolled back several Biden-era enforcement actions.

What we're watching: The federal government faces a deadline today to file a brief in response to a lawsuit brought by banks challenging the CFPB's data access rule.

Rylan Lawler contributed reporting.

🙅‍♂️ Stop me if you've heard this one before: A centralized crypto lender with $700 million under management has frozen withdrawals for all of its customers. (DL News)

🪀 NFTs might be perking up after a user bought 45 CryptoPunks in one sweep. The collection's floor price is once again over $200,000. (Decrypt)

🎢 BNB, the Binance exchange token, hit a new all-time high yesterday. (CoinGecko)

👨‍🌾 The Senate ag committee delayed yesterday's planned vote on the nomination of Brian Quintenz to lead the CFTC at the request of the White House, the committee's spokesperson tells me.