Stablecoin issuer Circle has announced in an official press release that it has obtained conditional registration as a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) from the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF). The company will commence operations after obtaining a license as a Payment Service Provider (PSP). In addition, Circle will appoint Coralie Billmann, a senior professional in the payment industry, as its Head of Operations in France.
Circle recently announced that it has obtained conditional registration as a DASP from the AMF, which is pending approval from other electronic currency institutions and payment licenses that are currently under review. The company has also appointed Coralie Billmann, who has decades of experience in the payment industry, as its Head of Operations in France. Billmann has previously led the high-growth technology marketing division at JP Morgan and served as the CFO for Europe and the Middle East at PayPal for nine years. She currently serves as the Head of Europe and a board member at payment company 3S Money.
Circle claims that Billmann’s extensive background in payments and finance in Europe will effectively strengthen Circle’s compliance development in the region and ensure that its products are well-prepared for the latest European Union Cryptocurrency Market Regulation (MiCA) set to be released in May this year.
Jeremy Allaire, co-founder of Circle, emphasized that “regulatory compliance first” has always been the primary principle for Circle’s advancement in blockchain technology and global stablecoin payment applications. He sees the conditional DASP registration in France as a significant milestone, symbolizing their commitment to becoming a regulatory-compliant platform in Europe.
Dante Disparte, Circle’s Global Policy Chief, stated that France’s innovative and clear legal rules in fintech and digital assets, as well as its comprehensive financial service ecosystem, are the main reasons why Circle chose the country to expand its business.
As the issuer of the USD stablecoin USDC and the EUR stablecoin EURC, Circle’s move is also seen as a strategy to promote the EUR 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 EUR 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 are valued at approximately $90 billion and $20 billion, respectively.
However, Circle seems to face strong competition in the local market. Two weeks ago, Societe Generale, one of the three major French banks, announced the launch of its own stablecoin EURCV (EUR CoinVertible), which will be used for settling digital bonds, funds, and other asset transactions. The stablecoin will also be available to all investors, not just large institutions, and it is compliant with the upcoming MiCA regulations taking effect next year.