France’s financial regulatory body, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), has granted Coinbase a Virtual Asset Services Provider (VASP) license. The license will enable Coinbase to offer digital asset-related services to both retail and institutional users in France.
According to a post on the company’s website dated December 12, 2023, Coinbase stated that the license would facilitate “custody of digital assets; buying and selling of digital assets in legal tender; the trading of digital assets against other digital assets”. The post also emphasized France as “an important market for Coinbase” and lauded the nation as “a global magnet for innovation.”
Daniel Seifert, Vice President and Regional Managing Director, EMEA, at Coinbase, said in a statement, “We’re focused on bringing the benefits of crypto to the world. Achieving VASP status in France allows us to continue to grow globally in the best possible way, onboarding the next 1 billion people into crypto while ensuring consumer’s assets are secure and that compliance is prioritised. France has a thriving web3 ecosystem and we are excited at the prospect of contributing to it.”
Founded in 2012, Coinbase handles approximately $76 billion in transactions per quarter according to its website. The company collaborates with 245,000 partners across more than 100 countries. Furthermore, Coinbase’s Compliance Program integrates best practices from traditional finance with innovative technology.
Coinbase’s Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad noted in a post on X that “France is an extraordinary market, with world-class regulators, and a President who wants to make France an international digital asset hub.”
France introduced a regulatory framework for digital assets through the PACTE law in 2019. This legislation established AMF as the supervisory authority over virtual tokens and DASPs as reported by Adan.
Binance became the first major global exchange licensed to operate in France when the AMF granted Binance France a DASP registration in May 2022, according to a post on Binance’s blog.
Richard Teng, currently the CEO of Binance, spoke highly of France in an interview in June. He pointed out that France’s progressive digital asset regulations have attracted an influx of crypto businesses. CoinDesk reported Teng as saying, “If you look at what Paris is doing, it is very conducive for businesses. Not only ourselves, a number of crypto players are trying to use Paris as their base for expansion within Europe.”
