French government proposes a single body to regulate cryptocurrency activity across the EU

If implemented, the proposal would create a single authority for the cryptocurrency industry across the EU and establish uniform regulation across the bloc through ESMA, as proposed by France’s securities regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF).

The AMF proposal states:

"Similarly, granting ESMA direct powers to supervise public offers of crypto-assets (reviewing the white paper) and crypto-asset service providers within the EU would create clear economies of scale for all national regulators and pool expertise in an efficient way for the common European interest."

Last year, a proposal was made to establish an EU-wide regulatory framework for digital currencies. ESMA is a Paris-based financial regulator that aims to strengthen investor protection within the EU, improve the functioning of financial markets and promote cooperation between member states.

If the AMF’s proposal is adopted, it would leverage ESMA’s experience in regulating digital currencies and provide legal certainty for digital currency businesses operating across the EU.

Regulating digital currencies has become a major topic of discussion among governments around the world. On Monday, the U.S. Treasury Secretary convened the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to discuss the regulation of stablecoins.