Bank of France governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau reportedly called for a more urgent stance towards finalizing crypto regulation, before virtual assets become a problem for the nation’s monetary sovereignty.

Specifically, during the Paris Europlace financial conference on June 29th Villeroy reportedly shared his belief that there is only “one or two years” remaining for the EU to complete the establishment of a crypto-focused regulatory framework. 

Failing to act on the matter, per the central bank governor, would lead to “an erosion of our monetary sovereignty” and possibly result in serious devaluation of the euro. 

“I must stress here the urgency: we do not have much time left, one or two years. On both [digital] currencies and payments, we in Europe need to move as quickly as possible.”

Villeroy reportedly urged the EU to “adopt a regulatory framework in the coming months”, taking into account that crypto is becoming an increasingly important part of the regional markets.

The use of cash reportedly hit a slump and plummeted throughout the first few months going into the global health pandemic, which is a pattern indicating “marginalization of the use of central bank money” can happen, according to Villeroy. 

The Bank of France governor had issued warnings towards lawmakers in the past, regarding the potential risks revolving around crypto, stablecoins and CBDCs. 

In January, the bank reportedly finalized the trial phase for its self-developed CBDC, with further details showing that investors had completed the acquisition and selling of 2 million euros equivalent to simulated shares.