French legislators have softened their stance on crypto licencing in the country to give businesses more time to comply with new legislation around Europe. An amendment proposed by centre-left politician Daniel Labaronne was passed at night by the French National Assembly, enabling present cryptocurrency businesses to continue functioning without a full licence until the European Union’s historic crypto legislation is put into effect.
Currently, France has a two-tiered framework in place for crypto firms. Although all operators must register as crypto asset providers, they are not all required to obtain full licences, which calls for more extensive transparency. Although roughly 60 providers have registered with the AMF, which regulates the financial markets, none have chosen full authorization. But the amendment requires them to get a full licence if they start doing business in 2024 or later.
The parliamentarians rejected an earlier amendment in December by Senator Hervé Maurey and passed the current one instead. According to Maurey’s suggestion, these players would have had to begin the application procedure for full authorization this year. The action would have hastened France’s adoption of new, stricter regulations for cryptocurrencies that the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) is expected to establish, most likely by 2026.
According to Faustine Fleuret, President and CEO of French crypto industry organization Adan, this is a practical decision to strike the right balance between the flourishing of innovation in France and the secure environment for consumers in which it must inescapably take place. He noted that it also conveys to the industry the high standards of conduct and professionalism expected of those participating in harmonizing European rules.
This is a practical choice to strike the correct balance between the innovation that must flourish in France and a safe user environment. Additionally, it sends a message to the industry about the high standards of professionalism and conducts expected of the participants on this path to harmonizing European rules. According to Labaronne, the person who put out the most recent amendment, the bankruptcy of FTX demonstrated the necessity for investor protection. However, he added that more time was required to implement stricter laws.
France has revealed plans to introduce its own CBDC, which contradicts the planned Digital Euro. Other initiatives of the French central bank, such as Project Jura, will be in charge of issuing and distributing tokenized bonds and CBDC. The French and Swiss central banks and the BIS Innovation Hub conducted the Project Jura experiment over three days in November 2021. The project examined the effectiveness of wholesale CBDCs and the potential applications of distributed ledger technology in such transactions.
