Circle, a global financial technology firm and the issuer of USDC and EURC, has today announced receipt of a conditional registration as “a Digital Asset Service Provider (‘DASP’, or ‘Prestataire de Service sur Actifs Numériques’ (PSAN)) with the French Financial Markets Authority (‘Autorité des Marchés Financiers’ (AMF)).”
As further testament to the company’s commitment to France and the EU, Circle has also announced “the selection of payments industry veteran Coralie Billmann to spearhead its licensed operations in the country.”
The appointment of Coralie Billmann remains “subject to regulatory approval.”
In order to lift the conditions associated with its registration and to be able to start operations in France, Circle must obtain “an approval as a payment services provider (PSP) or a registration as an agent of a PSP.”
This condition will be satisfied with the obtainment of “an Electronic Money Institution license, for which Circle has applied.”
Billmann is said to be “a respected payments industry leader and most recently contributed to launch the payments activity of 3S Money Club in Europe, a licensed Electronic Money Institution.”
Prior to that, she led High Growth Tech Sales expansion “for JP Morgan in Paris and was EMEA Treasurer at PayPal for nine years. With a strong compliance and finance background, Billmann has held board directorships with 3S Money and PayPal. Billmann will play an instrumental role in enabling MiCA readiness and passportability for Circle’s products and services.”
Jeremy Allaire, Co-founder, CEO and Chairman at Circle, said:
“For over a decade, Circle has embraced a regulatory-first approach in advancing the use of blockchain technology and full-reserve payment stablecoins to empower businesses, promote financial inclusion and drive internet-speed global payments. The issuance of this conditional DASP registration in France marks a significant early milestone as we work towards establishing our European regulatory platform.”
Circle’s objective is to “have its European operations brought under comprehensive EU oversight with both a full DASP and Electronic Money Institution license (demande d’agrément en qualité d’établissement de monnaie électronique) under the rigorous standards set out by the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR), as well as to bring its products and services into compliance with the forthcoming Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regime.”
Circle is pleased to acknowledge “the support of De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés in this regulatory application process.”
