France is not going to wait for the EU legal framework and will regulate cryptocurrencies as soon as possible

The president of the Bank of France sees the need to tighten licensing requirements for companies in the digital currency industry.

French government official and banker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said his country should not wait for the European Union to regulate the cryptocurrency market. The European Parliament's Crypto Assets Act, known as MiCA, is unlikely to come into force until 2024. In the opinion of the president of the central bank of France, due to the current turmoil related to virtual currencies, there is a need to tighten the licensing requirements for companies in this industry as soon as possible.

France is not going to wait for EU regulations on crypto assets

The failure of many projects in the digital currency industry in the context of the ongoing cryptocurrency winter attracted the attention of regulators even more. The EU intends to introduce a law that would cover crypto assets. However, it is estimated that it will not enter into force until 2024.

According to a French official and banker, the current turmoil on the market creates the need for its quick and efficient regulation. Francois Villeroy de Galhau presented his views in a speech on Thursday 5 January in Paris. In his opinion, France should not wait for the EU to introduce appropriate regulations for virtual currencies, as this may not happen soon.

According to the words of the governor of the Bank of France, provided by Bloomberg, it is desirable that the country smoothly transitions to mandatory licensing of local service providers in the area of cryptocurrencies, and not just require their registration. According to the current requirements in this country, companies that allow trading and storing digital currencies must be registered with the French government agency - Financial Markets Authority (FMA) in order to provide their services.

Registration with the FMA is not enough

It turns out that out of the 60 cryptocurrency-focused companies registered with the FMA, none have a digital service provider license. This, in turn, is optional and involves the fulfillment of numerous requirements.

In December 2022, a member of the French Senate, Hervé Maurey, proposed to eliminate the clause allowing companies to operate without a license. The regulations currently in force in France allow companies focused on crypto assets to operate without a license until 2026, even if MiCA is introduced earlier.