Binance fosters crypto adoption in France, pursues an official base in the country

• Binance partnered with France’s FinTech through a 100-million-euro initiative to develop crypto and blockchain in the country.
• CEO CZ has said the firm has an interest in setting up an official base in the country, in addition to staying regulatory compliant.

The world’s largest crypto exchange Binance is moving headstrong in establishing its presence in France, in addition to cleaning its formerly tainted regulatory image. The crypto giant, along with the France non-profit FinTech is bolstering crypto and blockchain adoption in the country through a 100-million-euro ($113M) fund.

Dubbed “Objective Moon,” the November initiative will see Binance set up a research and development (R&D) office in the country. The firm will also support a start-up incubator program and training programs in collaboration with crypto hardware wallet developer Ledger and the online education platform OpenClassroom. A spokesperson from Ledger added that the company is partnering with Binance as it has an interest in furthering Web3 education.

Read More: Binance allocates $100M to accelerate blockchain and cryptocurrency development in France

Choosing France may prove quite beneficial for Binance following reports of the country’s fintech growth. According to project management software firm Dealroom, the fintech playground is expanding, with players such as Qonto and Lydia receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in funding.

Binance expands footprint in France

Moreover, the company is making attempts to paint a regulatory compliant organization. This will do away with the limitations being placed on its operations in various jurisdictions worldwide. Among its regulatory pain points, this year is the ban by Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also launched an investigation on the company. As financial watchdogs repeatedly sent Binance warnings, the firm was compelled to shut down trading of its digital stock tokens. Further warnings caused the exchange to pull out of Singapore and Iran among other countries.

Related: Binance ceases its stock tokens service as Italy and Hong Kong join the regulatory crackdown

Other than speaking in support of regulation, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has said the firm is interested in setting up an official base in France. Since its inception in 2017, the exchange has operated minus official headquarters, in the name of the crypto motto of decentralization. This may have to change now that the company wants in on the regulator’s good books. The UAE has also come up as a possible headquarter for the company, according to a CNF report.

Remarks

Nonetheless, the governor of France’s central bank told Binance it needs to have strong anti-money laundering checks if it wishes to set up in the country. Similar requirements were expressed by the country’s digital minister Cedric O, during the announcement of Objective Moon. On this, David Princay, Binance’s French GM said,

It’s a very positive sign for innovation,” adding “We need to be fully scrutinized and audited to pass and that’s for the better because when we’re going to pass, it is going to be a sign of trust, compliance.

Our aim is to be 100% compliant in every way activity and country we operate.

Some of the requirements Binance will need to fulfill will come from Europe’s newly-approved Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation. The proposal currently awaits parliamentary and council discussions.