The French Ministry of Finance is preparing to tighten the requirements for identifying users of cryptocurrency exchanges and begin to regulate trading platforms that do not use fiat currencies. The Block writes about this with reference to the president of the French cryptocurrency association ADAN Simon Polrot.
It is expected that the Treasury Department will issue a decree according to which all cryptocurrency transactions, including those without the use of fiat currencies, will require full identification of their participants. In other words, cryptocurrency firms will need to verify their clients with no minimum transaction size limit. The current limit is €1,000 and the requirement only applies to crypto-fiat transactions.
The industry participants expect that in the new conditions the cost of connecting each new user to the service will grow from €1 to €5, and no one can guarantee that the client’s activity will cover these costs. They assume that users will go to foreign exchanges where there are no such requirements.
In addition, it is planned to introduce mandatory registration of crypto exchanges, even if they do not support fiat currencies. Now the requirement applies only to crypto-fiat platforms and custodian services. The leaders of such companies must obtain licenses by December 18, under the threat of fines and imprisonment. Many fear that they will not be able to get a decision in time. Exchanges without fiat support are expected to be allowed 6 months to comply. Whether they will be extended to global exchanges that provide their services in France is not yet clear.
