France’s top bank official calls for mandatory crypto licensing rules

French central bank governor has advocated tougher crypto licensing requirements. bloomberg news Reported on January 5th.

Bank of France governor Franois Villeroy de Galhau told the financial sector in Paris this week that sooner or later France should enact regulation.

Villeroy de Galhau said in his speech:

All the chaos in 2022 encourages a simple belief. France prefers to move to a mandatory license for her DASP as soon as possible, rather than just registration.

In France, a full Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) license is currently an option, and Bloomberg suggests that no French company has obtained a full license. Instead, according to today’s report, about 60 companies have obtained a less extensive “registration” from the country’s Financial Markets Authority (AMF).

One of those companies is Binance, which obtained a license to operate in France last May. Other registered companies AMF website.

Villeroy de Galhau is not the only French official to call for more regulation. In December, Senator Herv Maurey proposed an amendment to eliminate the “register” option. Morley said he cited the collapse of FTX as one of the reasons for tightening regulations, calling the event a moment of “calculation and awareness.”

Future European-wide regulations may mandate a full DASP license in 2026, even if certain individuals do not succeed in introducing stricter regulations.

Tighter regulation could prevent France from engaging fully in the cryptocurrency industry. French regulations are currently perceived as somewhat crypto-friendly. His DASP program above is frequently described as a “light touch” and the country also maintains her ICO visa program which allows the sale of new tokens.

However, France also has a number of strict policies that can hinder the growth of the crypto sector, such as restrictions on cryptocurrency-related advertising and a 30% flat tax on all crypto investment income.