As 2023 draws to a close, French regulatory bodies are extending their reach into the cryptocurrency sector by granting licenses to international crypto firms. On December 21, notable approvals were issued to Coinbase, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, and Circle, a prominent stablecoin issuer.
Coinbase secured a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license from France's financial watchdog, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers. This authorization ensures Coinbase's compliance with both European Union and international regulatory standards. The VASP license empowers Coinbase to manage digital assets and provide cryptocurrency trading services within France. Furthermore, the exchange has recently launched crypto trading offerings for institutional clients based overseas, focusing on Bitcoin and Ethereum trades paired with USDC.
On a similar front, Circle received conditional approval to operate as a digital asset service provider in France, albeit with certain limitations. For full operational clearance, Circle must also acquire approval as a payment service provider. The company is actively seeking an electronic money institution license to fulfill this requirement, as stated in their recent blog post.
These developments arrive amidst a challenging regulatory landscape for cryptocurrency firms. The European Union, since June, has been implementing the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations, a comprehensive framework designed to govern digital assets that fall outside the scope of existing financial services legislation.
Contrastingly, in the United States, the regulatory climate for crypto companies is becoming increasingly stringent. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been actively pursuing legal actions against various crypto enterprises. For instance, Coinbase faced a lawsuit in June, accused by the SEC of listing and trading crypto tokens that should be classified as securities. Coinbase has contested these claims, arguing that the SEC is overreaching by labeling cryptocurrencies as securities. In pursuit of clearer regulatory guidelines, Coinbase previously requested the SEC to establish specific rules for digital assets in 2022. Following the denial of their request, Coinbase recently appealed against the SEC's decision on December 18.
