🎧 EPISODE: Transatlantic Rifts – US vs EU Crypto Regulation with Jón Helgi Egilsson

Welcome back to Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll, where monetary theory meets blockchain innovation. In this episode, host Michael Blaschke dives into the diverging regulatory landscapes shaping the future of digital finance. The U.S. and the EU are carving different paths in regulating cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and blockchain infrastructure—an ideological and practical split with global consequences.

Joining us is Jón Helgi Egilsson, Executive Director and co-founder of Monerium, whose unique vantage point spans central banking, fintech entrepreneurship, and both sides of the Atlantic. With a PhD in economics, leadership roles in central banking, and nearly a decade running a European blockchain finance company, Jón breaks down the core philosophical and strategic differences between the U.S.’s market-driven approach and Europe’s sovereignty-first stance.

We unpack how Europe's MiCA regulation contrasts with the U.S.’s Genius Act and forthcoming Stablecoin Act, revealing different views on innovation, risk, and monetary control. John offers a candid critique of the ECB's competitive role in retail digital currencies and explains why requiring non-bank issuers to route through 12 intermediaries may contradict the very ethos of blockchain.

Whether you're a policymaker, bank executive, fintech innovator, or investor, this episode delivers essential insights into how today’s decisions around CBDCs, stablecoins, and bank integration will shape tomorrow’s financial system.

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