Paris rolls out the welcome mat for Coinbase

CRYPTO exchange Coinbase has been given the regulatory thumbs up by France’s financial watchdog.

The AMF granted registration as a virtual asset service provider (VASP) which will allow Coinbase to offer digital asset services in France.

“This is an important market for us and represents another chapter in our Go Deep, Go Broad international strategy,” a statement said this evening.

“10% of French adults currently own crypto assets and 24% plan to buy, sell, and or trade cryptocurrency in the next 12 months. Demand is increasing. And for good reason: some 60% of French adults believe that the global financial system unfairly favours powerful interests.

“We’re committed to working with French policymakers & regulators to bring the already-thriving local crypto economy to new heights. We look forward to bringing the safest, most trusted name in crypto to retail consumers, institutional clients, and developer partners in France.”

The move aligns with work by the European Union to deliver its MiCA (Markets in Crypto Assets) plans which are intended to create a framework for crypto companies to operate under standard regulations across Europe.

It means that once a digital asset company secures a VASP licence in one nation, it effectively has a ‘business passport’ allowing it to operate across all nations in the bloc.

France, which is actively positioning itself as a global tech hub, has already committed to ploughing some $37 billion into its ‘France 2030’ scheme which economists hope will make the nation a Web3 world leader.