The governor of France’s central bank has advocated for stricter crypto licensing requirements, Bloomberg News reported Jan. 5.
Bank of France governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau told Paris’ financial sector this week that France should enact regulations sooner rather than later.
Villeroy de Galhau said during a speech:
All the disorder of 2022 feeds a simple belief. It is desirable for France that DASP licensing be mandatory as soon as practicable, and not just registration.
Full Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP), licensing in France is optional. Bloomberg suggests that none of the French companies have received a full license. Instead, about 60 companies have obtained a less extensive “registration” from the country’s Financial Markets Authority (AMF), according to today’s report.
Binance, one of those companies, was granted French operating permission last May. Other registered companies can be seen on the AMF’s website.
Villeroy de Galhau was not the only French official to call for additional regulations. In December, Senate member Hervé Maurey proposed an amendment that would do away with the “registration” option. Maurey cited the collapse of FTX as one reason for stricter regulations, calling the event a moment of “reckoning and awareness.”
Even if some individuals fail to introduce tighter regulations in their area, future EU-wide rules will likely require full DASP licensing by 2026.
France may be prevented from fully engaging in the crypto market by having stricter regulations. France’s regulations are currently recognized for being somewhat crypto-friendly: the DASP program above is frequently described as having a “light touch”, and the country also maintains an ICO visa program that allows new token sales.
However, France also has a number of strict policies that might discourage growth in the crypto sector — such as restrictions on cryptocurrency-related advertising and a 30% flat tax on all crypto investment income.