A top European tech strategist recently highlighted a critical gap: Europe's digital backbone relies heavily on US-controlled infrastructure companies, creating a dependency that stifles homegrown innovation. While American firms continue building and iterating, European regulatory frameworks often lag behind, creating friction for startups and cloud platforms. This regulatory-first vs. build-first contrast is reshaping how the continent approaches blockchain, AI, and decentralized technologies—raising questions about whether current policy approaches help or hinder competitiveness in the Web3 era.