- Francois Villeroy de Galhau, the Governor of the Bank of France, said in a speech on Thursday that crypto companies in France should be obliged to obtain a DASP license “as soon as possible.”
- The DASP license is currently optional in France. Crypto businesses offering trading and custody are only required to register with Financial Markets Authority (AMF).
- None of the 60 firms registered with the AMF hold a DASP license.
- The current law allows crypto businesses to avoid obtaining a DASP license until 2026.
Francois Villeroy de Galhau, the Governor of the Bank of France, has called for stricter rules for crypto companies during a speech on Thursday in Paris, according to Bloomberg.
Villeroy said that crypto-focused companies should become subject to “obligatory” crypto licensing “as soon as possible.” He said the EU should not wait to implement upcoming regulatory frameworks like the European Parliaments Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) bill.
“All the disorder in 2022 feeds a simple belief: it is desirable for France to move to an obligatory licensing of DASP as soon as possible, rather than just registration,” he said.
Those companies that want to obtain the Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) license will be required to comply with strict requirements related to financing, business organization, and other areas.
DASP is currently optional in France. Businesses that provide crypto services like trading and custody are only required to register with France’s market regulator Financial Markets Authority (AMF). Out of the 60 companies that are registered with the AMF, none hold the DASP license.
The current law in France allows crypto businesses to operate without a DASP license until 2026. However, that might change in the coming months as regulators worldwide prepare to introduce stricter crypto regulations.
On the Flipside
- It’s unclear if and when the law surrounding the DASP license will change.
Why You Should Care
Regulators seem to be on a roll lately discussing the cryptocurrency industry. If what they’re saying and promising comes to fruition, crypto might have another interesting year ahead.