France intends to establish a legal framework for cryptocurrency-related fundraisers and to become a hub for initial coin offerings (ICOs), finance minister Bruno Le Maire wrote in an opinion post on French news portal Numerama. He revealed he had defended this position at the G20 meeting in Buenos Aires, where the finance ministers and central bank heads of the world’s 20 leading economies gathered this week.
Le Maire has already taken action in this direction, asking the former second deputy governor of the central bank, Jean-Pierre Landau, to come up with a draft bill related to cryptocurrencies.
“France has every interest in becoming the first major financial center to propose an ad-hoc legislative framework that will allow companies initiating an ICO to demonstrate their seriousness to potential investors,” Le Maire said.
He stated that he would ensure an action plan is presented to the French government soon. It will propose allowing stock market regulator AMF to authorize firms to release tokens for fundraising. Naturally, the companies will have to comply with certain criteria so that investors can be protected.
“This ‘white list’ will be a valuable benchmark for investors who want to finance serious projects that create value,” Le Maire wrote.
The initiative, called Action Plan for the Growth and Transformation of Enterprises (PACTE), will be presented to the Council of Ministers in a few weeks.
Last year, the AMF revealed that it was analyzing the legal framework for ICOs, which were emerging in France.
The finance minister is confident that blockchain is an excellent chance for French startups to collect funds via ICOs.
“This promises to create a network of confidence without intermediaries, offers increased traceability and will boost economic efficiency,” Le Maire said.
France should not miss the blockchain revolution and should enter the finance world of the 21st century, the minister noted.
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