French lawmakers have approved the recent bill to regulate the crypto industry in the country, with only the President’s approval remaining.
French lawmakers have approved a new crypto regulatory bill with 109 of them voting in favor of the legislation. The bill now awaits the approval of President Emmanuel Macron for it to become a new law in the country. The French National Assembly passed the bill aiming to integrate local regulatory laws to European Union (EU) standards. The President would now need to clear the bill within 15 days or else send it back to the assembly for discussion.
The new law would mandate crypto firms in France to undergo several compliance checks and other anti-money laundering rules, to prevent any risk to customers’ funds. The firms would also be required to be more transparent on the state of their funds, and how they handle their users’ deposits. Such a well-defined regulatory framework has been in constant demand by the crypto sector worldwide, and the latest bill is expected to help regulate the crypto sector for its further growth.
However, crypto companies already operating in France under the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) would continue to adhere to rules of the AMF itself until the passing of the European Union’s MiCA bill. Only new crypto firms registered after July 2022 would come under the new law.
Several senior government officials and French Lawmakers had advocated for France’s own law for crypto regulation as the waiting time for MiCA was getting longer. Recent unfortunate incidents in the crypto space had also accelerated the move. The MiCA regulation is supposed to be active from 2024 onwards in the European Union.