Circle’s latest regulatory move in France marks a step towards compliance with the EU’s MiCA regime.

Stablecoin issuer Circle announced on December 21 that it had obtained conditional registration under French cryptocurrency law.

Dante Disparte, Circle’s Chief Strategy Officer and Global Head of Policy, said:

“The choice of France as our European regulatory base was based on the country’s clear rules for responsible innovation in fintech and digital assets, while leveraging France’s vibrant entrepreneurial, technology, banking and financial services ecosystem.”

Circle said it has now conditionally registered with French financial regulator Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) as a digital asset service provider (DASP) or Prestataire de Service sur Actifs Numériques (PSAN).

This conditional registration means that Circle must obtain approval from a payment service provider (PSP) or register as an agent of a PSP before it can begin operating in France. Circle said it has applied for electronic money institution (EMI) status to meet this requirement. The company added that overall, obtaining a license will enable it to comply with the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regime.

Circle noted that it has selected Coralie Billmann to lead its operations in France, pending regulatory approval. Billman previously worked at European payments platform 3S Money, JPMorgan Chase and PayPal Luxembourg. Billman's LinkedIn page shows that she became Circle's vice president of Europe this month, which is different from her upcoming role as president of Circle France.

Coinbase announced yesterday that it is registered in France

Frequent Circle partner Coinbase announced on Dec. 21 that it had received similar regulatory status in France. Unlike Circle, Coinbase’s regulatory status appears to be final, rather than conditional.

Despite the dissolution of the joint venture CENTER Consortium in August, Coinbase and Circle continue to maintain a strong partnership. The two companies have been recognized for their role in issuing and supporting the USDC stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. In addition, they also provide and support the EURC stablecoin pegged to the euro. #Circle #法国加密监管