France might pass strict crypto firm licensing laws

In order to harmonize the local laws with proposed European Union standards France might pass strict crypto firm licensing laws.

The French National Assembly has passed a bill that will enforce stricter licensing rules for crypto firms. The bill has received 60.5% votes in favor and 39.5% votes against it, and now awaits the signature of President Emmanuel Macron to become law.

After the French Senate passed the bill they sent it directly to president Emmanuel Macron. Now, He has 15 days to decide whether to make it a law or send it back to the legislature.

If the bill turns into law, it will promote the implementation of stricter guidelines to strengthen users’ protection. More so, this law will oblige every cryptocurrency firm that provides any kind of crypto-related services to the people to follow more stringent anti-money laundering regulations.

In addition, they will have to demonstrate that customer funds are kept separate, follow new reporting guidelines for regulatory bodies, and provide elaborated disclosures about risks and possible conflicts of interest. These rules will only apply to the crypto firms that will register after July.

However, there are around 60 cryptocurrency firms that don’t need to comply with these laws. These are the companies that are already registered under Financial Market Authority (AMF). AMF is the National Finances Regulator of France that controls the products and participants in France’s Financial market. Until the EU passes the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) bill, these companies will remain under the AMF’s supervision.

Binance counts as one of those 60-AMF registered cryptocurrency firms. It is also piloting projects in France like in-store payments via Binance pay with the cloud-based payment platform Ingenico,

A member of the French Senate Finance Commission,  Hervé Maurey put forth the idea of strict licensing policies in the legislature. He suggested in December, eliminating the clause that allows crypto firms to operate without a full license till 2026.

Francois Villeroy de Galhau, Bank of France governor, also advocated the agenda in his speech on Jan 5. He stated that the recent upheaval in the crypto world is the reason behind this new bill.

In April, the EU will vote for the new laws based on MiCA, making it more likely for them to implement by 2024. However, France does not want to wait around for those laws.