By Mathieu Rosemain and Elizabeth Howcroft
Paris (Reuters) -France has warned that it could try to block certain licensed cryptography companies in other EU countries to operate at the national level within the framework of a thrust to obtain the transfer of surveillance to the central securities regulator of the block, the manager of his surveillance dog told Reuters.
The security dog of the securities of France, the AMF, fears that by virtue of the new EU regulatory regime, the cryptographic companies are looking for jurisdictions with more lenient license standards, said its president, Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani.
Mica, a historic set of digital asset rules that have entered into force this year, allows cryptographic companies to request licenses from individual EU members, which they can use as a “passport” to operate throughout the 27 country block.
The legislation has already exposed inconsistencies in the way in which national regulators apply the rules, which raises questions on the concession of certain licenses and if cross -border companies are adequately supervised.
Monitoring deviations from the alarm
The challenge is monitoring of the cryptographic industry of several billion dollars, which regulators around the world have been warning for a long time could destabilize the markets and harm investors if they are not properly supervised.
On Monday, France joined Italy and Austria to call for the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), based in Paris, to take the supervision of large cryptographic companies, according to a document post seen by Reuters.
In its strongest warning to date, the AMF has told Reuters that France would not exclude the possibility of using “atomic weapons” to challenge the “passport” of a license granted by another Member State.
A characteristic of the EU single market for financial services, the “passport” allows companies authorized by a Member State to operate through the block. The AMF has not given details on the licenses of companies which it could consider to be difficult, or on what basis.
“We do not exclude the possibility of refusing the EU passport,” said Barbat-Layani. “It is very complex legally and not a very good signal for the single market – it’s a bit like” atomic weapon “… But it is always a possibility that we have in reserve.”
Cryptographic platforms “make their regulatory purchases throughout Europe, trying to find a weak link that will give them a license with fewer requirements than others,” she added, without providing specific examples.
Major differences between regulators
In the article on Monday, the French AMF, the Italian consobb and the Austrian FMA called for European legislators to introduce a mechanism to transfer powers to ESMA.
