EU in Need of a Central Cryptocurrency Regulator, Says France 

A pan-European governing authority would help take back control of the market while dealing with concerns about the existing criminal activity.

The Only Way Forward

With the current European crypto market currently estimated to be worth over €1 trillion, is giving the regulatory reins to one central entity the only way forward? The answer is yes, if you ask France.

Looking to bolster the market after Brexit and help the EU’s post-coronavirus pandemic economic recovery, French regulators Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) says it’s time to form the financial regulation process and standards across Europe. How? By centralizing the decision making.

Take Back Control

Today, each EU nation has its own regulatory supervisors, in charge of overseeing their respective crypto markets. However, concerns about the ever-growing cryptocurrency industry being used by criminals to finance their illegal activities is creating a dialogue regarding how to take back control.

Earlier this week, France presented a proposal with the focus on handing over more power to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). The reason being that French regulators believe the cryptocurrency industry needs EU-wide regulations and this would help get it done in a safer and much more efficient way.

The Perfect Watchdog

With headquarters in Paris, ESMA would be the perfect watchdog and stricter rules to keep the market under control are needed. Widely known as a vocal supporter of reforming the financial regulation process and standards across Europe, AMF motivates the proposal by saying:

“Granting ESMA the power of direct supervision of public offers of crypto assets in the EU and of crypto service providers would create obvious economies of scale for all national supervisors and concentrate expertise in an efficient way, for the common European benefit.”

Not only does the AMF want ESMA to gain control, they also suggest “non-action letters” should be given as new supervisory tools. The method is often used by regulators in the U.S. to provide guidance on interpreting financial rules and regulations.

Limited EU Supervision

So where do other EU members stand on the issue? According to Julie Patterson, Head of Asset Management Regulatory Change at KPMG, other EU nations have “very different views” regarding a direct oversight from an EU-level.

When asked by Financial Times, Patterson replied: “Direct supervision by EU institutions is limited at present. Further major change seems unlikely in the short term given that ESMA’s responsibilities and powers have recently been extensively reviewed”.

Until a decision is made regarding the above proposal for EU crypto regulations, we won’t know the effects it may have on miners or even people looking to sell their Bitcoin.