Today in Crypto: German Bank Nuri Tells 500K Users to Withdraw Funds Ahead of Closure; France Names Ex-Bank Lobbyist to Head Financial Markets Regulator

Ex-bank lobbyist Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani has been cleared to lead France’s financial markets regulatory agency as of Wednesday (Oct. 19), Coindesk wrote.

Barbat-Layani is currently Secretary-General at the French economics and finance ministry, and will be taking over as chair of the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) for Robert Ophèle. Her job will see her responsible for registering crypto companies along with traditional financial institutions.

The French government wants the country to be a hub for crypto, and it has one of the first crypto licensing regimes in the European Union. The developments are being set up ahead of possible bloc-wide crypto rules in the form of the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA), which might take effect in 2024.

Barbat-Layani has also issued a warning to crypto firms, saying that licenses once granted can also be taken away, which is “not a bug of the system but an intended feature.”

In other crypto news, German crypto bank Nuri has said users ought to withdraw their funds, as the company is preparing to shut down and liquidate the business, according to a letter from CEO Kristina Mayer.

A Cointelegraph report noted that Nuri is among the numerous companies that have seen major issues this year during the bear market – the company first began reporting issues in August after reporting that it had filed for insolvency. At that time, the company said business would continue as usual while it worked on restructuring and tried to work out a buyout.

But because no acquisition materialized, the company will be shutting down, according to Mayer.

Mayer said the challenges this year “have become insuperable due to the tough economical and political environment of the past months, which kept us from raising new funds or finding an acquirer.”

She said the insolvency of “one of our main business partners” that went unspecified in her statement had “worsened” things significantly. The Cointelegraph report notes that Celsius was likely to be the main culprit, as it had partnered with Nuri to offer bitcoin interest accounts, which were halted when Celsius went bankrupt.

Celsius did not respond to a request for comment from PYMNTS.