The Bank of France’s governor has called for more strict licensing requirements for crypto companies in France, due to the current chaos in the crypto markets.
During a speech in Paris Francois Villeroy de Galhau said France shouldn’t wait for upcoming EU crypto laws to enact obligatory licensing for local digital asset service providers.
The European Parliament’s Markets in Crypto Assets bill that provides a crypto-licensing regime isn’t expected to come into force until potentially sometime in 2024.
Currently, crypto businesses providing crypto trading and custody are required to be registered with the Financial Markets Authority which is the country’s market regulator.
A DASP license is optional, with those licensed forced to comply with a slew of requirements related to business organization, conduct and financing. However, out of the 60 AMF-registered crypto firms, none are currently licensed as a DASP.
The call from Villeroy comes after an amendment was proposed in December by Senate finance commission member Hervé Maurey to eliminate a clause allowing companies to operate without a license.
