France’s central bank governor François Villeroy de Galhau urged the European Union to prioritise regulation of cryptocurrencies amid the risk of weakening the euro’s international standing, according to BFM Business.
During the virtual International Forum in Paris, the central bank chief said:
«Whether it is digital currencies or payments, we in Europe must be ready to act as quickly as necessary, otherwise we risk undermining our monetary sovereignty».
Without vigorous action in this direction, the EU will not only fail to strengthen the euro’s global role, but also to preserve it, he added.
In François Villeroy de Galhau’s view, there is a need in the coming months to adopt a regulatory framework for digital currencies and crypto-assets.
«Here I must emphasise the urgency: we have little time left — one or two years», — he noted.
The head of the Bank of France pointed to the rise of digital payments during the pandemic and the growing influence of cryptocurrencies on financial markets. In his words, these two trends could lead to ‘marginalisation of the use of central bank money’, both in the form of banknotes and in the settlement system among large financial institutions.
As previously reported, the EU authorities unveiled the regulation project for cryptocurrencies and stablecoins in September 2020. It is expected that the new rules will be in place by 2024.
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