For a long time the rules were relatively clear in a system that had developed over many years for controlling the issuance of money and how it moves around the world, much of it based \u2013 to the advantage of the US \u2013 on the dollar. If you are doing a digital transaction, after all, chances are you are using US-based technology from either Visa or Mastercard \u2013 or, online, PayPal.<\/p>\n
The advent of crypto<\/a> was the first sign that this had changed. But now the story has got a lot bigger.<\/p>\n Digital money<\/b> <\/p>\n We are all used to digital transactions in our daily lives, both in retail locations and online. But these transactions are underpinned by \u201creal\u201d money \u2013 in Ireland this is euro issued and guaranteed by the European Central Bank (ECB)<\/a>. <\/p>\n However, there is a new band of digital currencies that do not exist in paper form and are not issued by central banks.<\/p>\n We are familiar with crypto currencies such as Bitcoin, which are now significant players but have largely stood apart from the traditional world of finance, used as higher risk investments and in some cases to underpin transactions. <\/p>\n Unlike traditional, or so-called \u201cfiat\u201d, currencies, they are not underpinned by a central bank guarantee and not regulated in the same way. Nonetheless, they have grown into significant players for speculative investors. Now the technology underpinning crypto is starting to go mainstream. And this is behind the battle for control on the future of money.<\/p>\n Blockchain<\/b><\/p>\n Cryptocurrencies work on the so-called blockchain, which is separate from the traditional bank-to-bank transmission system for money transfers. <\/p>\n Advances in cryptography have been vital to the development of this technology. The Central Bank of Ireland explains<\/a> blockchain as \u201clike one big public file \u2013 or ledger \u2013 that is shared and stored across a huge network of computers.<\/p>\n \u201cThis file contains all the transactions made using the cryptocurrency. Because it is publicly shared and its contents validated by so many different people, it makes it virtually impossible for anyone to include a fraudulent transaction on it.\u201d <\/p>\n In this way control is taken away from central banks and the banking system, with private players issuing cryptocurrencies and overseeing their transmission. <\/p>\n A key feature of blockchain is so-called tokenisation \u2013 the way ownership is registered on a blockchain is via a token. In turn this allows 24\/7 settlement and programmability \u2013 mandating funds to be transferred when something happens, such as a product delivery or \u2013 in the case of investments \u2013 an asset registering a particular price. <\/p>\n The advent of crypto has led to fears among central banks and financial regulators, but at least it has been largely separate from the mainstream.<\/p>\n But now blockchain technology is threatening to go mainstream, due to the speed of transactions, cost advantages and the ability to avoid traditional systems such as Swift, where the money has to be sent through correspondent banks involving charges and delays. This has big implications for who controls our \u201cmoney\u201d. <\/p>\n [\u00a0Cryptocurrency is financial cocaine for the middle classesOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n Stablecoin<\/b><\/p>\n A key bridge between the old world of money and the new is so-called stablecoin<\/a>, a newer player issued by private interests \u2013 Circle and Tether are the two biggest. As a cryptocurrency it operates on the blockchain but, unlike traditional crypto, it offers those who hold it convertibility back into traditional currencies, almost always the US dollar, on a one-for-one basis. <\/p>\n The Trump administration has sought to regulate this sector via the Genius Act<\/a>, which obliges issuers to hold assets to back the stablecoin they issue, normally US government bonds. The US sees stablecoin as a way to underpin dollar dominance in international transactions, even though a consortium of big EU banks is planning to issue a euro-based version. <\/p>\n Stablecoin, as its name suggests, is designed to offer an alternative to volatile traditional cryptocurrencies and thus gain acceptance in key roles of functional money \u2013 as a medium of exchange and a store of value. <\/p>\n There are, however, fears about how it would fare if a crisis hit the markets and whether the huge holdings that stablecoin companies are building up in US treasuries would be unloaded in a way that would cause instability in this vital market if stablecoin investors lost confidence and a lot wanted their money back in US dollars at the same time. <\/p>\n![\"Cryptocurrencies](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PXTZ3DP5FW6HO3FNHSPNLUBTL4.jpg\")
Cryptocurrencies work on the so-called blockchain, which is separate from the traditional bank to bank transmission system for money transfers. Photograph: Getty Images\/iStockphoto <\/p>\n
![\"Some](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/QDDJW6LTXHEAHRRVZNPZOD4FJQ.jpg\")
Some big EU banks are also pioneering a new EU payments system, Wero. Photograph: Nicolas Tucat\/Getty Images The money war<\/b><\/p>\n