France Financial News

Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management is preparing to launch a 'dark green' fund — which must meet strict criteria under the EU's ESG rules — months after downgrading all of its greenest strategies.

The Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, Crypto.com, announced on June 1 that it had been granted a major payment institution (MPI) license for digital payment token (DPT) services by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Cryptocurrency is going to become less private in Europe as the major exchange Binance is preparing to delist all privacy tokens in countries like France and Italy.

Millions of American television viewers, including those watching the NBA Finals, will soon see a new national ad campaign run by Coinbase. Titled “Moving America Forward,” the campaign is focused on explaining crypto and illustrating how it can help “update the system.” The ads add to the increasing pressure the company is putting on the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for clarity on digital assets. But no company can operate without a backup plan, which explains why Coinbase also secured a license in Bermuda in April to operate an offshore exchange.

The Bank of Japan released the results and findings of a report on central bank digital currencies 

Despite a «wild year» of scandal and failure in 2022 when the FTX exchange and a number of crypto dealers collapsed, Peter Smith, chief executive of London-based Blockchain.com, told the Qatar Economic Forum that there is now «real growth» in the crypto community. Smith, who said nearly a decade as head of Blockchain.com had left him with «no nerve endings», told how other countries were taking advantage of the void left by the US where some regulators were «openly negative about crypto». While some US legislators want to see rules for a cryptocurrency market, regulators there have taken a tough line because of fears of money laundering and scams such as the FTX collapse. Former FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried is due to go on trial in New York in October.

French lawmakers have agreed to tone down the restrictions on a bill first proposed in March that would have severely restricted locally-registered cryptocurrency companies from using influencer marketing.

Rumors have been spreading throughout the cryptoverse that the major blockchain bridge Multichain team has been arrested by the Chinese police - with the shockwaves hitting the Fantom (FTM) ecosystem softer than expected. 

BNP Paribas has poached a senior dealmaker from UBS to lead its equity capital markets business in the US as the French lender looks to bolster its Wall Street investment bank.

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.__________

Speaking at the G7 Forum conference in Japan, US President Joe Biden drew attention to the ongoing budget talks with lawmakers. 

US lawmakers from both sides of the aisle introduced a bill this week to block the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency. 

A blockchain lobbying group backed by the likes of Goldman Sachs, Citi Group, Circle and Fidelity has urged the United States Congress to pass a legal framework for digital assets or risk falling behind other nations.

House Democrats and Republicans are seemingly divided on how to regulate stablecoins but are finding consensus that some form of legislation is needed.

On May 10, the United States House of Representatives Financial Services Committee and Agriculture Committee held their first joint hearing on digital asset regulation. The event felt like a logical continuation of another recent hearing where representatives lambasted Securities Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler for perceived regulatory overreach. 

The popular hardware wallet maker Ledger has addressed some of the concerns from the community, after it introduced a new and controversial wallet recovery service.

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.__________

The acquisition marks Ripple's first foray into a growing institutional crypto custody market that the firm says could hit $10 trillion by 2030. Metaco's main offering, Harmonize, has been chosen by major global custodians, top-tier banks such as Societe Generale, and corporates.

Boutique Moelis & Co has bolstered its European investment bank with another senior dealmaker hire in the region.

The G7 committee recently met in Niigata, Japan, to discuss, among other topics, the global financial implications for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and the laws governing the transfer of cryptocurrency assets.

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.__________