France’s top financial regulator has published a new list of investment websites that are not authorized to operate within the country, including the so-called digital asset service providers (DASPs). One of the firms that came under the spotlight of the AMF called BitcoinFrance, which raises a number of red flags characteristic of investment scams. The crypto company claims to offer registered users free access to their proprietary bitcoin trading software once they deposit a minimum of $250. Crypto scams have surged around the world this year amid the ongoing pandemic.
The French regulators seek to regulate crypto activities.
The app allegedly trades in cryptocurrency markets on behalf of their clients and generates earnings of $1,000 per day, adding that their profits will be quickly realized with no risk. These claims carry all the red flags of a crypto scam. The financial regulator said that the full list of unauthorized sites is available on the regulator’s website, and it also emphasized that these domains may change very quickly and that the list is not meant to be exhaustive. The warning comes as Paris is seeking to regulate the crypto industry, and in addition to such warnings, the industry regulator has recently approved the country’s first application for an initial coin offering (ICO).
European Union to set crypto regulations within the next four years.
As reported earlier, the European Commission will introduce new rules within four years to make cross-border payments quicker and cheaper using blockchain and crypto-asset. The European Commission is due to set out its strategy for encouraging greater use of digital finance at a time when 78% of all payments in the eurozone are done in cash. The commission also wants a rapid shift to “instant” payments, generally as pandemic lockdowns showed the growing role of cashless payments.
