euro

According to Gate market data, the German DAX30 index closed up 301.79 points on October 2, an increase of 1.21%, at 25,241.14 points. The UK FTSE 100 index rose by 31.68 points, an increase of 0.3%, at 10,459.95 points. The French CAC40 index increased by 61.88 points, an increase of 0.79%, at 7,897.19 points.

Market news reports that Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Amazon (AMZN.O) cloud businesses will face stricter scrutiny from the European Union.

Aave founder Stani Kulechov expressed disappointment on the X platform regarding the responses from the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Banking Authority (EBA) to the MiCA consultation. He stated that both institutions not only advocate for banning stablecoin payment yields but also propose restrictions on crypto asset service providers (CASP) offering users access to DeFi, including services involving non-MiCA authorized stablecoin yield protocols.Kulechov indicated that the relevant opinions also involve restricting DeFi services to specific user groups through "suitability tests" and potentially establishing a certification system for DeFi lending protocols. He believes that if regulators decide which protocols are suitable for European users, it could lead to more closed ecosystems, weakening the liquidity and network effects of open DeFi, and limiting opportunities for European users to participate in on-chain finance.

According to Gate market data, due to the growing demand for artificial intelligence-related stocks, European semiconductor companies' stock prices have generally risen. Micron Technology reported strong quarterly results, and ASML and ASM International's stock prices rose by 2.3% and 4.1%, respectively.BE Semiconductor Industries rose by 2.6%, Infineon Technologies rose by 4.6%, and STMicroelectronics rose by 2.7%.

According to The Block, the European Central Bank has proposed three models for introducing central bank digital currency on the blockchain, including direct issuance, establishing bridging mechanisms, and implementation through private intermediaries.These models can provide settlement support for transactions such as tokenized securities, bank deposits, and stablecoins on distributed ledger technology networks.

According to Reuters, citing informed sources, EU countries discussed the U.S. request to release diesel stocks and the issue of the U.S. threatening to impose a diesel export ban during a meeting on Friday. The U.S. has requested that major European countries release 800,000 tons of diesel within six months.

Austrian Bitcoin platform 21bitcoin announced that starting today, it will pay an annual interest rate of 1.21% on customers' uninvested euro balances, allowing customers to choose to receive it in BTC form without any exchange fees. The company claims to be the first service provider in Europe to directly pay savings interest in Bitcoin.The interest covers all euros in the account, including funds waiting for the next savings plan purchase or funds reserved for unexecuted limit orders, with no minimum deposit requirement and no lock-in period. The interest is paid by Germany's Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Bayern Mitte eG, which has held shares in 21bitcoin since 2023. Customers' euros are stored in a demand savings form in the bank's segregated trust account, and 21bitcoin states that it will pass on the full interest to customers without retaining any interest margin.This interest rate is a floating rate, and the interest is subject to German withholding tax. This launch follows the earlier introduction of a zero-fee Bitcoin savings plan earlier this year. 21bitcoin was established in 2021, holds an Austrian MiCAR license, and is authorized by Germany's BaFin, reporting over 100,000 users and a trading volume exceeding 650 million euros.

According to sources from Reuters, the United States hopes the European Union will release 120 million barrels of diesel within the next six months. The United States has informed France and Germany that emergency diesel reserves should be released, or they may face a ban on U.S. diesel exports.

According to Gate market data, the German DAX30 index opened down 165.19 points, a decrease of 0.66%, at 25,034 points; the UK FTSE 100 index fell 116.75 points, a decrease of 1.1%, at 10,489.25 points; the French CAC40 index dropped 49.6 points, a decrease of 0.62%, at 7,914.91 points; the Euro Stoxx 50 index declined 27.07 points, a decrease of 0.43%, at 6,241.95 points.

According to The Block citing the Financial Times, EU regulators are questioning Binance's use of legal exemptions to continue providing services to EU customers after failing to obtain a MiCA license.Binance stated that the company complies with applicable regulatory requirements in the jurisdictions where it operates and is working towards obtaining MiCA authorization.

Driven by a new round of increases in the energy market, inflation rates in major European economies have soared to multi-year highs. Inflation data for September in Germany, France, Italy, and Spain all exceeded expectations, with Spain's inflation rate reaching 5%, the highest since 2023.Fuel costs are the main driver, expected to push the overall inflation rate in the Eurozone towards 4%. Although the market anticipated a September inflation rate of 3.7% for the Eurozone, data from multiple countries exceeded expectations, leading to a decrease in investor bets on an interest rate hike by the European Central Bank in October.

The White House has urged the European Union to tap into emergency diesel reserves to lower global prices. The Trump administration is exploring multiple options to reduce fuel costs ahead of the midterm elections in November, including pushing foreign countries to release reserves and restricting U.S. diesel exports.

European ETF and ETC platform HANetf has launched the Arrow Bitcoin EUR Hedged ETC (EBTC), which, according to HANetf, is the world's first Bitcoin ETC that offers euro exchange rate hedging.The product aims to provide euro-denominated investors with exposure to Bitcoin prices while reducing the impact of euro to dollar exchange rate fluctuations on investment returns, with the related currency hedging provided by HSBC.

According to Cointelegraph, the European Central Bank (ECB) has announced the launch of a new round of applications for the digital euro innovation platform, inviting fintech companies, payment institutions, and other organizations to explore AI agents participating in digital euro payments.The project will be divided into two parts: practical testing and future application seminars. The practical testing will take place from January to June 2027, where participants will develop prototypes for electronic receipts, multi-party transactions, conditional payments, and more.The seminars will explore AI payments, micropayments, machine-to-machine transactions, and the application of the digital euro in public services. In addition, the ECB has selected 36 banks and payment institutions, including Revolut, Stripe, and Deutsche Bank, to participate in another 12-month digital euro pilot, which is scheduled to launch in the second half of 2027. The final issuance of the digital euro still requires EU legislation and subsequent decisions from the ECB.

According to Gate Europe CEO Dr. Giovanni Cunti's latest LinkedIn post, global business relies on efficient cross-border capital flows, but traditional international payments still face challenges such as multiple intermediaries, currency exchange, and limited operational efficiency.Dr. Giovanni Cunti emphasized, "Digital assets are opening up new possibilities for businesses in cross-market payments and value flows." He pointed out that stablecoins and blockchain-based payment networks can provide faster settlement speeds, higher transparency, and more flexible cross-border transaction capabilities. Beyond everyday payments, their application scenarios are rapidly expanding to areas such as vendor settlements, multinational payroll distribution, treasury management, and global value transfer.As this ecosystem continues to grow, a clear and defined regulatory framework is crucial. Europe is leading this transformation through MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation), which provides a unified standard for crypto asset services across the EU region. Dr. Giovanni Cunti further noted that in the long run, the value of digital assets will transcend asset trading itself, further deeply integrating into the real economy and the daily operations of global enterprises. Relying on the compliance foundation of the MiCA and Payment Institution (PI) dual licensing system, Gate Europe is deeply integrating digital asset services with traditional payment capabilities, continuously exploring a new paradigm of a highly efficient and closely connected global economy empowered by digital assets.

According to a report by Phoenix Technology citing Reuters, French Minister for European Affairs Benjamin Haddad stated on Tuesday that the European Union should use the billions of euros in fines imposed on Google to reduce member states' contributions to the EU budget. Haddad, in an interview with a French news channel, said: "This is a new source of income for the EU, amounting to 4.6 billion euros, and this funding should be used to automatically lower the contributions of all member states."In July of this year, Google was fined a total of 890 million euros for violating EU regulations aimed at curbing the power of large tech companies, equivalent to about 1.01 billion dollars. The recent fines have brought the total amount of fines imposed on Google by the EU for anti-competitive behavior over the past two decades to 10.38 billion euros. EU countries are currently negotiating the budget for 2028 to 2034, with the European Commission proposing a budget scale of 2 trillion euros, accounting for 1.26% of the EU's gross national income, of which about 168 billion euros will be used to repay loans raised for the post-pandemic recovery fund.

The Irish Minister for Energy stated that any U.S. diesel export ban would have a significant impact on the European Union.

According to the French newspaper Le Monde, a 45-year-old woman born in Russia and naturalized in France in 2017, Svetlana A., has recently been placed under investigation and detained by a Paris investigating judge on charges of organized fraud, serious money laundering, and participation in a criminal gang. The French National Financial Prosecutor's Office stated that she and her British partner Robert H. are suspected of committing organized fraud by manipulating cryptocurrency prices, with the related funds suspected to be used for purchasing properties in Dubai.Reports indicate that Svetlana A. invested over 50 million euros in 2022 alone, acquiring about 100 apartments and 3 luxury villas in Dubai, with total rental income from 2022 to 2025 expected to be at least 4 million euros; she also purchased an entire building containing 73 apartments for 68 million dirhams (approximately 17.4 million euros). The cryptocurrency mentioned in the report is Verasity (VRA), launched by her partner in 2018. The price of VRA surged 65 times over a two-and-a-half-month period in the spring of 2021, followed by a significant decline, currently down approximately 99.98% from its historical peak. The lawyer for the parties involved stated that the sources of the related wealth are documented and legal, and they deny any wrongdoing. The case is still under investigation.

According to Bitcoin.com, Hive Digital Technologies has filed a complaint with the European Commission regarding the Swedish VAT dispute. The Swedish Tax Agency reclassified the data center services of its two Swedish subsidiaries as self-mining and retroactively applied this classification to relevant operations since 2022.This classification excludes the relevant operations from VAT collection, and the input VAT that the subsidiaries have received may need to be returned. Hive believes that its subsidiaries provide computing power services to specific clients under contract, which should be considered taxable operations. The Swedish court refused to submit the issue to the Court of Justice of the European Union. Hive stated that the court did not provide a reason for the refusal and has submitted the dispute to the European Commission.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) calls for the inclusion of crypto lending in the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework. In response to the European Commission's targeted consultation on MiCA, the EBA stated that lending activities involving crypto assets should be regulated, including situations where crypto asset service providers offer users access to decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocols.The EBA recommends that the European Commission conduct a cost-benefit analysis for legislative amendments, considering the inclusion of intermediary crypto lending in the MiCA regulatory service list, and potentially adding specific compliance requirements and supervisory activities. The agency also suggested that corresponding requirements should be set for crypto companies providing customers access to DeFi lending protocols.Potential measures listed by the EBA include user suitability testing, leverage limits, and additional information disclosure requirements. The regulatory body also proposed that access to lending involving assets that require MiCA authorization, such as reference tokens or electronic money tokens, may be restricted, and a certification system should be introduced for DeFi lending protocols. The EBA noted that crypto lending is continuously growing within the EU, with previous studies showing lending activities in at least 16 member states; easier access to DeFi through crypto companies and artificial intelligence tools is increasingly blurring the lines between centralized and decentralized finance. The above recommendations are part of the EBA's overall opinion on the European Commission's review of MiCA, which also covers stablecoin rules, crypto asset classification, and reporting requirements.