Key Takeaways
- Sarah Knafo urged the EU to adopt a strategic Bitcoin reserve.
- Knafo criticized the ECB's proposed digital euro, calling it 'totalitarian.'
- The ECB expects to decide on the digital euro's launch by 2025.
Call for Bitcoin reserve
European Parliament member Sarah Knafo has called on the European Union to reject the European Central Bank’s (ECB) proposed digital euro and instead establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve.
Criticism of digital Euro
In a speech before the European Parliament, Knafo criticized the ECB’s exploration of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), calling it:
Totalitarian temptation.
She warned against the risks of centralized control, where financial transactions could be monitored, restricted, or canceled by bureaucrats.
Knafo said:
It is time to say no to the totalitarian temptations of the European Central Bank, which wants to impose a digital euro entirely in its hand. We do not want this dystopian world… It is time to bet on freedom.
Global Bitcoin adoption
Knafo pointed to global examples such as El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin in 2021 and United States Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s recent description of Bitcoin as “digital gold.”
She criticized Europe for focusing on regulation and taxation, arguing that such policies stifle innovation and leave citizens vulnerable to inflation.
ECB timeline
The ECB has been studying a digital euro since 2020 but remains undecided.
Its final decision is expected by October 2025. Privacy concerns and potential risks to private payment systems have delayed progress.
Growing support for Bitcoin
Knafo’s call reflects growing skepticism in Europe toward CBDCs and increasing support for Bitcoin’s decentralized nature as a hedge against inflation and government overreach.
