France could propose stricter regulations on cryptocurrency firms, according to The Block.
Simon Polrot, president of French crypto association ADAN, told The Block that the country’s Finance Ministry is planning to require full know-your-customer (KYC) measures for all crypto transactions, regardless of the size of the transaction, and mandatory registration for all crypto-to-crypto exchanges.
The move is motivated by recent terrorist attacks in France, sources told The Block.
Bruno Le Maire, France’s Minister of the Economy and Finance, previously said proposals were needed “to strengthen the control of financial funds” because “cryptocurrencies pose a real problem of terrorist financing,” according to The Block.
Currently, France’s rules require KYC measures only on crypto-to-fiat transactions over 1,000 euros (about $1,200).
Pierre-Guy Bareges, chief technology officer of Digital Service Group, and Nicolas Louvet, CEO of Coinhouse Group, told The Block that the heightened restrictions will raise the cost of compliance when onboarding users. Bareges also noted that it could cause customers to move to foreign exchanges with less regulation.
In other news, Ryan Selkis, co-founder of crypto data and research firm Messari, said in his 2021 crypto sector thesis that the U.S. government is the last “adversary” crypto must face, Cointelegraph reported.
“The ‘final boss’ to beat is the state,” Selkis wrote in his report, released on Tuesday (Dec. 8), according to Cointelegraph. “For the U.S., bitcoin presents a tool to undermine international sanctions… Will a Biden administration like BTC? TBD.”
While some still fear a bitcoin ban in the U.S., bitcoin’s reputation has prospered, especially in recent months amidst its price rally.
“Bitcoin is an unseizable form of private money that’s proven very hard to kill,” Selkis wrote, according to Cointelegraph. “It’s outperformed every major asset class over every relevant time period in its history.”
And, BBVA is preparing to offer cryptocurrency services, CoinDesk reported.
Spain’s second-largest bank will first roll out the cryptocurrency trading and holding offering in Switzerland, where digital assets are already regulated by a comprehensive set of rules, CoinDesk reported, citing sources.
“There are still some compliance hurdles so this will not be in December, but I expect they [BBVA] will be live next month,” a source said, according to CoinDesk, while another source said it would be live “around Christmas.”
BBVA is allegedly integrating SILO, a digital asset management solution built by two Swiss firms, core banking software firm Avaloq and blockchain tech firm METACO. SILO is already in use at Russia’s Gazprombank.
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