France Financial Markets Authority (AMF) Approved first Public initial Coin Offering (ICO)


French financial markets regulator,
Autorite des marches financiers or the Financial Markets Authority (AMF)
has approved first public coin offering (ICO) in France. This approval visa is
said to be the first of its kind within the European boundaries.
A cryptocurrency fundraising firm dubbed as
French ICO has been given a green signal to proceed further. The French
ICO has fulfilled all the essential prerequisites imposed by AMF to issue the
ICOs. French Financial Markets Authority has
sanctioned this approval under the PACTE bill. The approval has been granted
until 1 June 2020 and the ICO has been included in the offerings list of the
AMF.AMF has further granted permission to sell
and promote the ICOs. The sale is scheduled in March 2020 and is capped at $1.1
million.
Conditions for Acquiring Optional Visa
The AMF ensures certain criteria for approving the optional visa to the issuers.
- The issuer of the tokens must be registered under French legal
jurisdiction.
- The documents must fulfill the prerequisite of AMF general
regulations.
- The issuer has to assure safeguarding measures and the
vigilance process to protect the interests of the ICO investors.
- The issuer has to assure compliance with AML and anti-finance
laws imposed by the government.
Recent Policy framework for ICOs (PACTE
Bill)
Over the last year, France has softened its
stern approach towards the crypto industry. As a result, in April 2019, the
French Parliament has passed the PACTE bill which formulated regulations for
the crypto industry. The bill had been dubbed as The Action Plan
for Business Growth and Transformation (PACTE). The bill structured legal
regulations for Initial Coin offerings and digital asset service providers and
reinforced the AMF authority over this sector. It consists of 70 articles, tax measures
and regulatory and non-regulatory terms and conditions for the industry. The
bill in return provides a guaranteed bank account and an alternative to launch
token sales in the countries holding ICO Visa. In its press release, AMF states, “The
PACTE law has indeed introduced in France an optical visa regime for
fundraising in crypto assets. Only public offerings of so-called utility
tokens, which are not considered as financial instruments, are eligible for
this optional visa.” The PACTE law has established an optional
Visa mechanism for fundraising in digital assets. Public offerings of utility
tokens which are not categorized as financial instruments will be considered
eligible as optional visa.
AMF’s approval not mandatory for the
ICOs
The AMF Visa doesn’t assess the
authentication of the ICO in financial, technical and accounting terms. It
neither claims appropriateness of the project nor verifies its terms and
conditions on white paper. The public itself would be liable to the risks. The approval has not been imposed mandatory
on the ICO issuers however the ICOS without a visa would not be entertained for
solicitation, sponsorships and any support from the government.
France’s Stern Approach towards Crypto
Industry
Earlier in March this year, the AMF had blacklisted
15 cryptocurrency websites. The illegal websites were deceiving the investors
by alluring them with high returns on investments.

Crypto Business World
CBW - External Analyst
INDIA