Progress has its downsides, as the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), the non-governmental body that regulates the French stock market, has noticed. According to the AMF Ombudsman, digital asset-related mediations will increase dramatically in 2022, as will the number of registered digital asset service providers (DASPs).
In its newly released annual report for 2022, the AMF Ombudsman includes for the first time a section dedicated to digital assets. It noted that while the total number of cases received by the Ombudsman decreased from 1,964 in 2021 to 1,900 in 2022 , mediation requests related to digital assets increased from 44 to 54, and the number of cases accepted increased from 6 to 17 pieces. At the same time, the number of registered DASPs increased from 28 to 59. The AMF Ombudsman can only mediate in cases where DASPs are registered with the AMF, or where the AMF has provided optional approval in cases such as initial coin offerings. An AMF is required to provide custody for third parties in France, buy or sell digital assets for legal tender, exchange digital assets for other digital assets, or operate a digital asset trading platform in France.
An AMF license is required to "provide one or more digital asset services in the ordinary course of business." There are currently no licensed DASPs. The Ombudsman's report states that DASP registration requirements will be tightened in July before being replaced next year by the Europe an Union's Market in Cryptoassets (MiCA) legislation.
The AMF Ombudsman is careful to note that it will not interfere in “scams” that may be governed by regulations applicable to crypto assets or, in the case of derivatives, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II). Misinterpretation of pledge terms is Reportedly a common problem dealt with by the Ombudsman.
