What future for digital currencies? The debate between François Villeroy de Galhau and Piero Cipollone
May 15, 2025
As part of the second edition of the academic Conference on the impact of private and public innovations in digital payments on the monetary and financial system, the governor of the Banque de France and Piero Cipollone, member of the executive board of the ECB, discussed the main challenges for the digital euro and its impacts on payments and the banking sector on May 15.
When asked by moderator Jana Randow in the Jacques Delors Auditorium, “Do you think you will be able to use the digital euro in five years?”, nearly three-quarters of the audience raised their hands. Pier
o Cipollone echoed this sentiment: "If you had asked me a year ago why we were thinking about a digital euro, I would have said monetary sovereignty. Now I can add: because people want it!”
“Digital currency and fiat currency each have their advantages; the goal with the digital euro is to have the advantages of both forms of currency," the governor emphasized. The main challenges—monetary anchoring, sovereignty in the payments sector, and ways to address the fragmentation of payment methods—were discussed.
When asked whether Donald Trump's election had changed anything about the project, the answer was clear: “it has significantly strengthened our determination to move forward with the project,” said the governor.
In terms of timing, Piero Cipollone said that the digital euro could have a legal framework in place by the end of the year, and that once the decision has been made, the digital euro could be launched in 2028. “According to surveys, nearly half of Europeans would be willing to use the digital euro, and the trend is rising,” the governor pointed out, adding that this new form of currency will offer additional freedom of choice in payments, but is not intended to replace or eliminate other forms of currency. Georges Bernard Shaw said: “Some men see things as they are, and say why. I dream things that never were, and say why not.” “This could be the motto of our project," summarized François Villeroy de Galhau.
