Crypto Bubbles

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French central bank governor pushes for crypto licensing ahead of EU laws https://images.cointelegraph.com/images/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjMtMDEvZDZhZDEyNDktYTlkYS00YjI4LWI2MzQtMjI0MTkzOGYyZDYyLmpwZw==.jpg

The Bank of France’s head said turmoil in the crypto markets proves the need to move to a mandatory licensing scheme for crypto firms "as soon as possible."

Francois Villeroy de Galhau, the Bank of France’s governor, has urged for more stringent licensing requirements for crypto companies in France, citing the current turmoil in the crypto markets.

During a speech in Paris on Jan. 5, the central bank governor said France shouldn’t wait for upcoming EU crypto laws to enact obligatory licensing for local Digital Asset Service Providers (DASPs).

The European Parliaments Markets in Crypto Assets bill (MiCA) provides a licensing regime for the EU amongst other regulations and is expected to come into force potentially sometime in 2024.

According to a Jan. 5 Bloomberg report, Villeroy addressed the country’s financial industry in his speech, stating:

“All the disorder in 2022 feeds a simple belief: it is desirable for France to move to an obligatory licensing of DASP as soon as possible, rather than just registration.”

Currently, crypto businesses providing crypto trading and custody are required to be “registered” with the Financial Markets Authority (AMF), the country’s market regulator.

A DASP license is optional, with those licensed forced to comply with a slew of requirements related to business organization, conduct and financing.

However, out of the 60 AMF-registered crypto firms, none are currently licensed as a DASP.

Villeroy speaking in Dec. 2017 on a panel in Paris. Image: The Jacques Delors Institute

The call from Villeroy comes after an amendment was proposed in Dec. 2022 by Senate finance commission member Hervé Maurey to eliminate a clause allowing companies to operate unlicensed.

Current laws in France allow firms to operate unlicensed until 2026 even if, or when, MiCA passes into law and establishes a licensing regime.

Deliberations in parliament regarding the amendment will begin in January.

Related: French regulator AMF blacklists only 2 crypto websites in the whole year

MiCA has been grinding its way through the EU parliament since Sep. 2020.

On Oct. 10, 2022, it passed the European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON), 2022 as a result of trialogue negotiations between the EU Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament.

The final Plenary vote for MiCA was rescheduled from the end of 2022 to Feb. 2023. European Parliament member Stefan Berger explained to Cointelegraph in Nov. 2022 the reason for the delay was “the enormous amount of work for the lawyer linguists, given the length of the legal text.”

from Cointelegraph.com News https://ift.tt/06GwcRV

French central bank governor pushes for crypto licensing ahead of EU laws Home Cryptocurrency French central bank governor pushes for crypto licensing ahead of EU laws The Bank of France’s head said turmoil in the crypto markets proves the need to move to a mandatory licensing scheme for crypto firms "as soon as possible." Francois Villeroy de Galhau, the Bank of France...

Asia Express: China’s NFT market, Moutai metaverse popular but buggy…

After a one-year hiatus, Our Man in Shanghai returns, but hes no longer based in Shanghai (the crypto crackdown was a factor in the columns retirement), so a rebranding is in order. This space is now called Asia Express, and its a weekly roundup of news from mainland China and Taiwan and the rest of Asia too. Check in each Friday for news about Asias more influential projects, changes in the regulatory landscape and enterprise blockchain integrations. Much has changed since the last edition on Dec. 17, 2021. Without further ado, lets dig in.

Chinas national NFT market

The countdown to Chinas first national NFT marketplace begins. Source: Cdex

In a joint effort between the state-owned Chinese Technology Exchange, the state-owned Art Exhibitions China and the corporation Huban Digital Copyrights Ltd, Chinas first national NFT marketplace is scheduled to come online this week.

Its designed as a secondary market for trading digital collectibles, along with copyrights for digital assets. Perhaps unsurprisingly, its built on Chinas national Wenbao, or cultural protection blockchain, which helps verify the authenticity of artifacts and commercial goods. Currently, only the NFT platforms landing page is accessible.

1,400 blockchain firms in China

On Dec. 29, the state-owned China Academy for Information and Communications Technology, or CAICT, disclosed in its national white paper that over 1,400 blockchain firms are operating in the country despite strict regulations. Together, Chinese and U.S. blockchain firms account for 52% of such entities globally. In one example of distributed ledger applications in public service, CAICT researchers wrote:

[In the] Zhejiang Provincial blockchain electronic invoice platform, [authorities] used blockchains multiple access point and decentralized process capabilities, along with technological highlights such as smart contracts, to improve the trust verification across various departments. This led to the digital circulation of electronic invoices; their issuance, receipt, inspection, reimbursement, and improved the information management level and service capabilities of electronic invoices in financial departments.

Similarly, local news outlet Shanghai Securities News reported that the digital yuan central bank digital currency, or e-CNY CBDC, surpassed 104.8 billion Chinese yuan ($15.21 billion) in usage in the province of Zhejiang since its inception in April. Provincial residents have opened 24.14 million e-CNY wallets, and authorities claimed to have distributed 3.5 billion yuan ($510 million) in tax refunds via the e-CNY to residents as an experiment. Despite the results, experts such as former Chinese central banker Xie Peng said that usage has been low for the CBDC.

Kunmings blockchain KPIs

On Dec. 30, the City of Kunming published its three-year plan for municipal digital economy development. The report set a 25% annual growth target for the citys digital economy to surpass 500 billion yuan ($72.58 billion) in two years. In addition, local-level communist party officials must meet collective key performance indicators of incubating at least 20 blockchain-specific applications and encouraging the development of at least 10 strongly competitive and technologically advanced blockchain firms by the end of 2024. Please implement [them] fully and completely, the document states.

Moutais metaverse hits 1 million users

The Moutai metaverse experience. Source: 68h5.com

On Jan. 1, popular Chinese liquor distiller Moutai and internet technology firm WangYi launched their joint metaverse Xunfeng World on the Apple App Store. Developers designed the experience based on the Moutai distilleries in the Guizhou province. Players can interact with one another and distillers to learn the traditional Moutai-making experience.

Just two days later, its registered users surpassed 1 million, with the app ranking No. 1 in the e-commerce category in China. However, the app only had a rating of 2.4/5 at the time of writing, with users complaining about in-game features, excruciating wait times for Know Your Customer verification, login difficulties and poor customer service. One user wrote:

There is no customer hotline, there is no customer service, and I dont even know where to solve the problem. I looked forward to joining from the waitlist, but I could never pass KYC on the day of the apps release. Whats wrong? Im literally begging you to take my money so I can play this game, but it seems you dont want it?

Hong Kong crypto scams worsen

Hong Kong cityscape. Source: Pexels

Currently, Hong Kong residents cannot trade cryptocurrencies unless they are classified as professional investors or have at least 8 million Hong Kong dollars ($1.02 million) in bankable assets. However, these regulations have done little to curtail the rise of crypto scams.

A recent Hong Kong police report cited by Rthk.hk revealed that in the first 10 months of 2022, the special administrative region recorded 1,503 cases of investment scams involving total assets of $98.5 million, up 10% from the same period last year.

About 70% of the scams were classified as involving crypto. One victim, Mr. Lee, reportedly lost 180,000 HKD ($23,000) after being contacted by a representative claiming access to exclusive insider information on the price of SUSHI tokens. Mr. Lee later called the police after his supposed trading account was removed without explanation.

Square Enix all in on blockchain

In an annual letter published on Jan. 1, Yosuke Matsuda, president of Japanese gaming giant Square Enix, said that the company would shift its business focus to blockchain entertainment. The move follows Square Enixs announcement on May 3 that it would sell its blockbuster video game franchise Tomb Raider and use the proceeds to invest in new initiatives such as blockchain, though it still retains other popular franchises such as Final Fantasy. Matsuda wrote:

I think it is fair to say that blockchain gained significant recognition as a field in 2022, as evidenced by Web 3.0 becoming a firmly established buzzword among businesspeople. However, the year also saw volatility in the cryptocurrency and NFT markets that tracked the dramatic shifts in the macroeconomy described above.

Matsuda also said that aside from monetization, blockchain and NFTs should be delivering new experiences and excitement to customers and that the company had multiple blockchain games based on original IPs under development. In its latest filing, Square Enix reported 163 billion Japanese yen ($1.23 billion) in revenue and 39.4 billion yen ($297 million) in profit for the first six months to Sept. 30.

Its been an amazing year of games and 2023 is looking even better!

Heres a message from all of us at Square Enix wishing you a Happy New Year!

— Square Enix () December 31, 2022

Asia Express: China’s NFT market, Moutai metaverse popular but buggy… Home Cryptocurrency Asia Express: China’s NFT market, Moutai metaverse popular but buggy… After a one-year hiatus, Our Man in Shanghai returns, but hes no longer based in Shanghai (the crypto crackdown was a factor in the columns retirement), so a rebranding is in order. This space is now called...