Circle secures conditional registration as a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) in France, bolstering compliance and expanding in Europe.
Stablecoin issuer Circle has announced that it has received conditional registration as a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) from the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF). The company will begin operations once it obtains a license as a Payment Service Provider (PSP). Additionally, Circle has appointed Coralie Billmann, a veteran of the payment industry, as its Head of Operations in France.
According to the press release, Circle has obtained initial conditional registration as a DASP from the AMF, pending approval from other cryptocurrency institutions and payment licenses that have been applied for but are still under review. At the same time, the company has appointed Coralie Billmann, who has over a decade of experience in the payment industry, as the Head of Operations in France. The appointment is also awaiting regulatory approval.
Billmann previously led the high-growth technology marketing department at JP Morgan and served as the Chief Financial Officer for Europe and the Middle East at PayPal for nine years. She is currently the Head of Europe and a board member at payment company 3S Money.
Circle claims that Billmann’s extensive experience in the European payment and finance industry will effectively strengthen Circle’s compliance development in the region and ensure its products are well-prepared for the latest European Union Market in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulations, which will be implemented in May this year.
Jeremy Allaire, Co-founder of Circle, emphasized that “regulatory compliance first” has always been the company’s primary principle in promoting blockchain technology and global stablecoin payment applications. The conditional DASP registration obtained in France symbolizes Circle’s commitment to becoming a compliant platform that meets European regulations, marking an important milestone.
Dante Disparte, Global Policy Head of Circle, stated that France’s innovative and clear legal rules in fintech and digital assets, as well as its comprehensive financial services ecosystem, are the main reasons why Circle chose to expand its business in the country.
As the issuer of the USD Coin (USDC) and the Euro Coin (EURC), Circle’s move is also seen as a strategy to promote the Euro stablecoin market. The company continues to expand the deployment of EURC on various blockchains to facilitate cross-border on-chain transactions or transfer services.
According to previous reports by Coindesk, the Euro stablecoin market is still in its early stages compared to the USD stablecoin market, with a current market value of only $274 million, while USDT and USDC have market values of approximately $90 billion and $20 billion, respectively.
However, Circle seems to face strong competition in the local market. Two weeks ago, French banking giants Societe Generale announced the launch of its own stablecoin, EURCV (EUR CoinVertible), which will be used for settling transactions of digital bonds, funds, and other assets. The stablecoin will also be open to all investors, not just large institutions, and will comply with the upcoming MiCA regulations.
