France’s Market Regulator Aims to Speed Mandatory Licensing of Crypto Services

France’s market regulator wants to accelerate the mandatory licensing of cryptocurrency service providers.

Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani, the head of the Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF), said Monday (Jan. 9) at a conference that this change should be made before crypto-related European regulations come into effect, which is expected to happen in 2024, Bloomberg reported Monday.

The AMF offers an optional licensing system that was launched in 2019 but has had no crypto service providers sign up for it. Instead, more than 50 such firms have obtained a registration from the AMF that is less stringent, according to the report.

Barbat-Layani said the licensing mirrors that of the traditional financial sector and offers protection to investors, the report said.

At the same time, Barbat-Layani said the AMF does not oppose financial innovation — only fraud, according to the report.

“One should not conclude that technological innovation in the financial sector is bad in itself,” Barbat-Layani said, per the report. “Madoff has not doomed traditional finance, FTX should not doom digital finance.”

With these comments the AMF reinforces those of Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau, who said France should impose a licensing requirement without waiting for the European rules to come into effect, the report said.

A bill making the crypto licensing mandatory is to be discussed in the lower chamber of the country’s parliament this month and would implement the requirement by October, per the report.

As PYMNTS reported Dec. 30, the European Union (EU) Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation is slated for adoption this year following the delay of a vote that was initially scheduled for December 2022.

MiCA is a dedicated legal instrument intended to regulate the crypto space, replete with a detailed taxonomy of the different types of crypto assets it covers.

Blockchain is drawing government scrutiny worldwide as regulators seek to constrain fraudsters, limit itsenvironmental impact and protect investors and enthusiasts from the technology’s potential drawbacks.

The EU and the United States are currently taking the lead in blockchain regulation while other countries, such as China, have taken the simpler step of banning it entirely, according to “Is Regulation Friend or Foe for Blockchain?” the October/November 2022 edition of PYMNTS’ “Blockchain Payments Tracker®” series.

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