In Short -
The Situation: France has had a registration and licensing process for digital assets service providers for over three years. The recent crisis with Terra Luna and FTX trading platform has made it clear to...more
An order was published on December 23, 2020, amending the order of September 5, 2007, relating to the nonfinancial activities that French investment firms may conduct.
As a matter of principle, and similarly to credit...more
The Situation: From both sides of the Atlantic, United States and French financial authorities are keen to facilitate technology innovations in the financial sector. Beyond having set up dedicated teams to focus on the...more
6/15/2020
/ Banking Sector ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
France ,
Innovation ,
Innovative Technology ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
NYDFS ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards
The Situation: Following the enactment earlier in 2019 of new French legislation to regulate activities related to digital assets (including cryptocurrency but excluding tokenized securities), final regulatory provisions were...more
1/2/2020
/ AML/CFT ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Statements ,
France ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment ,
New Legislation ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
Recent laws—such as the 2016 Sapin 2 Law and the new EU General Data Protection Regulation—provide for rules that are intended to ensure compliance with the French Blocking Statute, which prohibits any French party from...more
6/18/2019
/ Blocking Statutes ,
Cross-Border ,
Data Protection ,
Discovery ,
Document Productions ,
Evidence ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
France ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Hague Convention ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Regulatory Standards
The Situation: ICOs and digital assets have become a new phenomenon that has impacted many aspects of our modern economies and created an alternative way of financing for start-ups or small and medium-sized...more
5/29/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Criminal Sanctions ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Instruments ,
France ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Registration Requirement ,
Token Sales
The Situation: In 2017, French authorities amended laws to permit the use of blockchain, or distributed ledger technology ("DLT"), for trading nonlisted securities.
The Result: The regulation governing the use of DLTs and...more
The Situation: The French government has presented a new bill in order to prepare for a "Hard" Brexit scenario.
The Result: If the United Kingdom leaves the European Union in March 2019 without an overall deal—or with a...more
11/9/2018
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Cross-Border ,
EU ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
France ,
Insolvency ,
ISDA ,
Legacy Contracts ,
Safe Harbors ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
The Situation: Delayed by two months, the long-awaited bill of President Macron's government relating to economic reforms and simplification of companies' day-to-day operations was tabled to the Cabinet on June 22, 2018....more
7/2/2018
/ Capital Markets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
EU ,
Financial Collateral Directive (FCD) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Investment ,
France ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
President Macron ,
Privatization ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Management ,
UK Brexit
The Situation: French investors continue to show interest in initial coin offerings.
The Result: The French Financial Market Authority has launched a public consultation to assess whether ICOs might fall within the scope...more
12/1/2017
/ AMF ,
Blockchain ,
Corporate Governance ,
Debt Securities ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
France ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investors ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Token Sales ,
UCITS
As the interest in blockchain technology grows, companies will be confronted with numerous decisions, challenges, and legal issues pertaining to its adoption. Relevant matters include the overall design and control of...more
9/6/2017
/ Australia ,
Blockchain ,
China ,
Cybersecurity ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Jurisdictions ,
France ,
Germany ,
Hong Kong ,
Japan ,
Patents ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Singapore ,
Smart Contracts ,
Supply Chain ,
UK