France’s Top Banking Official Calls for Mandatory Crypto Licensing Rules

The governor of the French central bank has argued for stricter crypto licensing requirements, Bloomberg News reported on January 5.

Banque de France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau told the Parisian financial sector this week that France should adopt regulations as soon as possible.

Villeroy de Galhau said during a speech:

All the disorder of 2022 feeds a simple conviction: it is desirable that France move as quickly as possible to a compulsory license of DASPs, rather than a simple registration.

In France, the full Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) license is currently optional, and Bloomberg suggests that no French company has obtained a full license. Instead, around 60 companies have obtained less extensive “registration” from the country’s Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), according to today’s report.

One such company is Binance, which received permission to operate in France last May. Other registered companies can be seen on the The AMF website.

Villeroy de Galhau is not the only French official to have called for new regulations. In December, Senator Hervé Maurey proposed an amendment removing the “registration” option. Maurey quoted the FTX collapse as one of the reasons for tighter regulations, calling the event “a moment of awareness and awareness”.

Even if some people fail to introduce stricter regulations, future EU rules will likely make full DASP licenses mandatory in 2026.

Tighter regulations could prevent France from fully engaging in the crypto industry. French regulations are currently recognized to be somewhat crypto-friendly: the above DASP program is often described as having a “light touch”, and the country also maintains an ICO visa program that allows new token sales.

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