- France is positioning itself as a world leader in the cryptocurrency sector, thanks to Macron’s favorable policies
- Binance, Circle, Crypto.com have chosen Paris as their European base to take advantage of the progressive and protective regulatory framework put in place by France
- Macron wants to create a European metaverse to promote innovation and culture, and calls on cultural institutions to seize NFTs
France is not only the country of gastronomy, fashion and culture. It is also the one that increasingly attracts major players in the cryptocurrency sector. The French Ledger is the symbol of this dynamic. The company has never left the territory and built its 6 million wallets in Vierzon. It hosts 20% of the cryptos in its wallets. Let’s also mention Morpho, the project born from the work of a 21-year-old student, promised to a bright future.
The French head of state has made digital transformation and innovation his priorities, and has shown his support for digital currencies, which he considers to be a lever for economic growth and competitiveness. During a interview given to the specialized media The Big Whalehe said:
Web 3 represents a requirement and an opportunity not to be missed. That France and Europe are leaders of future generations of the web. France has the assets and the talents for this.
This favorable environment has prompted companies like Binance (the largest cryptocurrency exchange platform in the world), Circle (a company specializing in digital currency payments) or Crypto.com (a platform that offers various services related to cryptocurrency). assets) to make Paris their European base.
Despite the red tape that sticks to the skin of France, these companies have been seduced by the regulatory framework that is both progressive and protective, which aims to promote the development of the sector while ensuring consumer protection and compliance with international standards.
Among the incentive schemes, it is impossible not to mention the support of Bpifrance which offers equity (an envelope to inject money, different from loans) for crypto/blockchain startups.
France was also one of the first countries to adopt a specific law on crypto-assets in 2019, which introduces an optional registration and licensing regime for digital asset service providers (DSPs).
No question of being lax. After the collapse of FTX last November (a shock to the cryptocurrency market), the French authorities have reinforced their requirements in terms of transparency, pricing policy, management of conflicts of interest and separation of deposits from clients. They also pleaded for a harmonization of rules at European level, with the proposed MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) regulation, which should come into force in 2024.
“We now need to ensure uniformity of rules across Europe to create a unified marketexplained the President in his interview with The Big Whale. I am, in this context, in favor of rapid progress on the MiCA regulation, on the basis of the balanced approach promoted by the Council and inspired by the French framework. France will be very careful that the text does not prevent innovation and remains as technologically neutral as possible”.
France thus stands out from other countries that have adopted a more restrictive or hostile attitude towards cryptocurrencies, such as China, Singapore, Dubai or the United States.
European Metaverse and NFT
Beyond crypto, Emmanuel Macron has an ambitious vision for the metaverse, these online virtual worlds where users can interact with each other and with digital objects.
During a press conference organized on March 17, 2022, Macron had for the first time mentioned the idea of a “European metaverse” and advocated for cultural and informational independence. He reiterated this idea in his interview with The Big Whale, saying:
Web 3 represents a requirement and an opportunity not to be missed. That France and Europe are leaders of future generations of the web.
Its objective would be to make Europe a central actor around the development of the web3, without depending on major American or Chinese players, contrary to what has happened so far. The construction of this European metaverse would also be a means of mastering and promoting cultural and creative content.
Macron has thus called on cultural institutions to seize NFTs, these non-fungible digital tokens which make it possible to certify the authenticity and ownership of a work of art or a virtual object. “I would like our main cultural establishments to develop a policy on NFT, for example through the promotion, distribution and protection of twins or variations of their physical collections” did he declare.
Still, these bets are fragile. Metaverse guru Mark Zuckerberg is beginning to wonder about the future of this technology after investing billions in it. If the NFT market has been picking up since the beginning of 2023, it has also run out of steam overall: the NFT Bored Apes, which were trading at crazy prices, are now worth almost nothing.
As for cryptocurrencies, they experienced a historic crash in 2022. If Bitcoin is recovering, the future of these risky products remains uncertain. As proof, Binance, the number 1 exchange platform, is experiencing great difficulties in the United States. The company is also weakened in other countries of the world including European countries like Germany.
