The French National Assembly voted to legislate stricter licensing rules for cryptocurrency startups in order to bring local laws in line with proposed European Union (EU) standards.
The vote was approved with 109 votes (60.5%) in favor against 71 (39.5%) against. With the French Senate already approved the bill, it will now go to President Emmanuel Macron, who has 15 days to approve it or return it to the legislature.
✅ DDADUE bill in the areas of economy, health, work, transport and agriculture | Approval by the National Assembly, taking into account the text of the mixed commission.
More information ➡️ https://t.co/CDlQxPrs1b#DirectAN pic.twitter.com/PZ2uuC4MrS– National Assembly (@AssembleeNat) February 28, 2023
If passed, the new law would force France-based cryptocurrency service providers to comply with stricter anti-money laundering rules, show that client funds are segregated, adhere to new guidelines on filing reports to regulators and provide more detailed information on risks and conflicts of interest. a means to strengthen consumer protection.
However, the content of the bill would not apply to the 60 crypto companies registered with the Authority for Financial Markets (AMF), the nation’s financial regulator. These companies will continue to comply with the AMF rules until the likely passage of the EU’s own crypto regulations with the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) bill.
Therefore, the stricter rules would only apply to crypto companies that register from July 2023 onwards.
Among the 60 companies registered with AMF is Binance, which recently began piloting in-store payments in France with the cloud-based payment platform Ingenico through Binance Pay.
Crypto payments are now easier in France
We have recently partnered with @ingenicoa global provider of payment solutions, to enable users to pay in crypto through #Binance Pay.
Another milestone for global crypto adoption pic.twitter.com/S8f8Pab7nW
—Binance (@binance) February 22, 2023
The legislative push for stricter licensing rules was started by Hervé Maurey, a member of the French Senate’s finance committee, who proposed an amendment to remove a clause allowing crypto companies to operate without a full license until 2026 at a meeting of parliament. in December of last year.
Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau also pushed the agenda in a January 5 speech to members of the financial sector in Paris.
Related: Bitcoin Business in France: Regulation, Education, and Cash Buying Frustration
Like many regulators around the world, Villeroy de Galhau cited the need to respond to the recent turmoil in the cryptocurrency market as the reason for the bill, which he wants to take effect “as soon as possible.”
While MiCA is likely to serve as a model for regulation of the cryptocurrency market in the EU, he added that France simply could not wait for the more comprehensive laws enacting the licensing regime for digital asset service providers (DASPs).
The EU is set to finally vote on the MiCA regulation in April after two postponements. A successful outcome would likely see the highly anticipated crypto laws take effect sometime during 2024.
