French Government Might Regulate ICOs By Year's End

Two French governmental bodies, the Treasury and the AMF (Autorité des marchés financiers), have reportedly debuted a bill with provisions to regulate ICOs in France.

Known as the ‘Pact Act’ (Action Plan for Business Growth and Transformation), the bill lays out a range of provisions for crypto token sales. “We will be the first in the world to have an ad hoc Regulation Regulation Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Read this Term on ICOs,” said Anne Maréchal, the AMF’s director of legal affairs. “We must attract the most beautiful projects to France.” (Translated quote.)

It is expected to be introduced to the Council of Ministers in June and will appear before French Parliament in September; lawmakers are hoping that the bill will be placed into law by year’s end.

The Pact Act Offers a ‘Path to Credibility’

“The Pact Act will say that the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) is responsible for ICOs,” said General Treasury deputy director Sébastien Raspiller. (Translated quote.) Under the law, as it is currently drafted, ICO holders can apply to the AMF to obtain an official ‘stamp’ that will provide them with legal credibility.

Although the ‘stamp’ will be encouraged, it is not slated to be a requirement: “the serious people who come to see us want to dissociate themselves from the fraudsters,” Maréchal explained. “We are already encouraging them to adopt good practices.”

Still, “the AMF can not [sic] guarantee the soundness of a project or even the soundness of the code on the Blockchain,” noted Maréchal.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire made headlines in mid-May when he called for France to become the European epicenter of the Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term industry. “I was a neophyte a year ago, but now I’m passionate. It took me a year. Let us show a lot of pedagogy with our fellow citizens to make France the first place of blockchain & crypto-active innovation in Europe,” he said.

"J'etais néophyte il y a un an, mais à present, je me suis pris de passion. Mais cela m'a pris un an. Faisons preuve de bcp de pédagogie avec nos concitoyens pour faire de la France la première place d'innovation Blockchain/cryptos en UE" @BrunoLeMaire ce matin. Il se passe qch!

— Alex Stachtchenko (@StachAlex) May 15, 2018