Davos Clash: Central Banks vs Bitcoin Ignites Policy Debate?

Davos debate: France’s central bank governor and Coinbase CEO clash over whether trust in tokenized money should come from regulated public institutions or decentralized users

  • Senior officials and industry executives debated tokenization and regulation at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
  • François Villeroy de Galhau argued that trust in money must come from regulated public institutions.
  • Brian Armstrong of Coinbase countered that users, not institutions, should decide trust and highlighted Bitcoin’s decentralization.
  • Both sides said private participation is possible if it operates within regulation and preserves monetary sovereignty.
  • Video of the panel and photos from the session are publicly available for review.

The debate unfolded on a Davos panel titled “Is Tokenization the Future?” where French central bank Governor François Villeroy de Galhau and Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, discussed regulation versus innovation in digital finance. The discussion focused on who should provide trust in money and whether tokenization can fit within regulated frameworks; viewers can watch his remarks on the panel video.

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Villeroy de Galhau said public institutions must underlie trust in money and emphasized central bank independence. He stated “The guarantee for trust is independence on the central bank side,” and added “I trust more independent central banks with a democratic mandate than private issuers of Bitcoin.”

Armstrong replied that Bitcoin is a decentralized protocol with no issuer and argued that users should decide trust. He said “In the sense that central banks have independence, Bitcoin is even more independent,” and “There’s no country or company or individual who controls it in the world.” He also called for competition between Bitcoin and central banks as an accountability mechanism.

Despite sharp exchanges, Villeroy de Galhau did not reject private roles in money. He noted “Money has existed for centuries as a public-private partnership,” and added “Regulation is not the enemy of innovation. On the contrary, it is a guarantee of trust.” He also said the digital euro aims to modernize payments while preserving monetary sovereignty.

Photos from the session are available as a public post; see photos from the panel. Further information on editorial standards is available via the editorial policy.

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