In Brief
- •Strasbourg has adopted a motion to study the creation of a local crypto, a first in a major French city.
- •Led by councilor Caroline Zorn (Pirate Party), this initiative aims to explore the economic, social, and technological impacts of such a project.
- •The motion proposes consulting citizens and analyzing several options, without imposing a technical solution at this stage.
- •Some elected officials are concerned about the complexity of the project and its environmental and operational implications.
A Motion to Initiate Reflection
While 90 % of Cannes merchants adopted crypto this summer, the city of Strasbourg adopted during a City Council session this Monday, September 29, a motion entitled “Let’s Consider a Local Cryptocurrency in Strasbourg”.
Presented by Caroline Zorn, city councilor, lawyer, and Pirate Party spokesperson, this motion does not yet launch a concrete project but engages the community in an exploratory phase. The goal is to analyze the impacts a municipal crypto could have on the local economy, tourism, and daily life of residents.
Here are the key points highlighted in the motion :
- •A potential economic lever: a crypto could boost local commerce and support short supply chains ;
- •A local innovation tool : it would allow experimenting with digital uses within the community, with local governance ;
- •A citizen‑centered project : public consultations are planned to involve Strasbourg residents in the reflection ;
- •Attention to the environment : Caroline Zorn cites Bitcoin as an example for its potential, according to her, to “lower the price of energy”, despite frequent criticism of its carbon footprint ;
- •An openness to Web3 uses : without prejudging the technology used, the motion leaves the door open to different options, including a local stablecoin.
The municipal opposition, however, expressed reservations. Céline Geissman, opposition councilor, raised environmental concerns often associated with cryptos, while highlighting the technical gap such a project could represent for a local government.
“Some elected officials don’t even receive their emails,” she quipped, pointing out the operational limits of such an ambitious technological shift. Despite these criticisms, the motion was adopted by 19 votes against 12 abstentions, marking the start of a study process, without a precise timetable at this stage.
Challenges, Uncertainties, and Perspectives of a Local Crypto
While the motion does not prejudge any specific technical solution, it opens a vast field of questions. On X (formerly Twitter), Caroline Zorn detailed the vague but deliberately open contours of the reflection : “Is a local cryptocurrency needed ? Should Bitcoin be promoted locally ? Mine ? Have a stablecoin backed by the pretzel…? We’ll see.”
Est‑ce qu’il faut une cryptomonnaie locale ? Est‑ce qu’il faut promouvoir Bitcoin au niveau local ? Miner ? Avoir un stablecoin adossé au
— Caroline Zorn (@c_zorn) September 29, 2025… ? A voir.
En tous cas, on va en parler avec des gens qui ne savent actuellement RIEN de ce que cela peut apporter.
She insists that the primary stakeholders, the citizens, still largely ignore what these technologies can bring them : “In any case, we will talk about it with people who currently know NOTHING about what it can bring.”
This participatory approach suggests that the municipality wants to build the project from the ground up, consulting experts but also simplifying concepts for the general public.
Technically, many uncertainties remain. What infrastructure to use ? What governance to consider ? What guarantees in terms of security, inclusiveness, and transparency ?
Legally, the room for maneuver of a local government is limited. Monetary law is regulated at the European level, and the Bank of France closely monitors experiments concerning digital currencies, not forgetting ongoing efforts around a possible digital euro, which could compete with or complicate any parallel initiative.
Beyond these obstacles, the Strasbourg project could open an unprecedented dialogue space between local institutions, Web3 actors, and citizens. By betting on active education and an exploratory approach, the municipality tests its territory’s receptiveness to alternative forms of economic organization.