The European Central Bank (ECB) recently launched a euro banknote design contest. The initiative aims to refresh the euro’s look, inviting graphic designers across the European Union to submit concepts linked to new themes: “European culture” and “Rivers and birds.” Applications run until August 18, 2025, marking a rare public call for input on national currency design. The ECB plans to consult the public on finalists, with new notes to enter circulation several years later.
Crypto Community Turns the Contest Into a Meme
While the ECB hopes to symbolize unity and culture through its redesigned currency, parts of the crypto and Bitcoin community saw a different opportunity. On X (formerly Twitter), users wasted no time in sharing mock submissions, some featuring satirical references to fiat money’s inflation problem, others proposing motifs tied to Bitcoin itself.
One frequent theme: the futility of designing new cash when “sound money” alternatives, like Bitcoin, already exist. Memes compared the euro redesign to the immutable nature of Bitcoin’s protocol or leveraged the contest as a broader jab at central banks’ policies.
This isn’t new. Whenever central banks launch PR campaigns around traditional currencies, crypto circles step in to question their relevance and sometimes just poke fun. The backlash gathered steam as crypto supporters suggested the contest reflects a distraction from issues like purchasing power or inflation. Some even submitted satirical designs to the official ECB competition page.
Christine Lagarde’s Criminal Record Surfaces in the Debate
Some discussion in online forums and social media threads also brought up ECB President Christine Lagarde’s legal history. In 2016, a French court found Lagarde guilty of negligence regarding a state payout during her time as France’s finance minister. However, she received no penalty, fine, or official criminal record, and this episode has not influenced her central banking role since.
The Real Motive: New Designs, or Control in a Digital World?
The contest arrives at a transition point for money in Europe. Less cash circulates now than a decade ago, while the ECB advances its digital euro and works to modernize payment systems. This makes the project’s timing particularly interesting traditionalists see it as a way to refresh the euro’s identity and make cash more attractive. But critics, especially in crypto, consider it a public relations move in a world where central banks grapple with the rise of digital currencies.
As the ECB consults the public on shortlisted designs, some users ask whether a new look changes anything fundamental. For many Bitcoiners, a redesigned banknote doesn’t address their main criticism: that fiat money loses value over time, while Bitcoin remains capped and decentralized.
What’s Next for the Euro—and Money?
Will a new euro design reconnect the public with paper money, or is it just another chapter in a slow transition to digital payments? The reaction from crypto supporters suggests skepticism about its impact.
As the new euro banknote moves through the design and review phases, debates about fiat, Bitcoin, and the very idea of money will no doubt continue.
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