France | Crypto

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov is now free to travel after French authorities fully lifted the ban on his travel, although the investigation into the platform remains open. French authorities have reportedly lifted Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s travel ban amid an ongoing investigation into the messaging platform. Durov had been ordered to remain in France following his arrest in Paris in August last year, facing multiple charges related to his operation of Telegram. Durov was previously granted temporary exemptions, and French authorities have now fully lifted restrictions on his travel, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. Read more

In the span of one frenetic week, France unveiled seemingly opposing policy tracks. On Oct. 31, the French National Assembly adopted a first-reading amendment rebranding the country’s real estate-only wealth tax into a broader “tax on unproductive wealth” that now explicitly covers digital assets. At the same time, the right-wing Union des droites pour la […] The post France wants to tax unrealized crypto holdings but also hoard 420,000 BTC appeared first on CryptoSlate.

For decades, Europe’s wealth was measured in gold and bonds. Now, two of its largest economies are preparing to add something new to their strategic vaults. This week, news has emerged that political leaders in Germany and France have each introduced proposals to establish a national Bitcoin reserve in a move that could redefine the architecture […] The post Is the EU Bitcoin race starting? France targets 420k BTC as Germany weighs reserves appeared first on CryptoSlate.

French regulator ACPR is auditing Binance and other exchanges as Paris seeks a greater role in enforcing MiCA rules across Europe. Update (Oct. 17, 2025, at 11:00 am UTC): This article has been updated to add commentary by a Binance spokesperson. France’s banking regulator is reportedly conducting additional Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks on Binance and other cryptocurrency exchanges, as Paris lobbies for more authority over Europe’s crypto industry under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). According to a Friday Bloomberg report, the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR) is checking the Anti-Money Laundering compliance of Binance and “dozens of exchanges.” The report cited anonymous sources who noted that the checks started last year and are confidential. Read more

France, via Banque de France, ESMA, AMF and ECB, has seen Lise secure a DLT TSS license under the EU Pilot; Stock trading and Exchange custody run on a ledger with instant settlement, and IPO access for SMEs has expanded, with early-2026 debuts planned and backing from BNP Paribas and Bpifrance. The post France’s Lise Wins DLT Greenlight, Targeting 2026 Stock Exchange IPOs On-chain appeared first on Cryptonews.

Targeting the first tokenized IPO launch in the first quarter of 2026, France’s Lightning Stock Exchange aims to become a fully tokenized equity exchange in Europe. Lightning Stock Exchange (Lise), a new stock exchange headquartered in France, is entering the market with bold ambitions to launch a fully tokenized equity exchange dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). France’s Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR) has issued Lise a DLT trading and settlement (TSS) license, paving the way for its tokenized equity exchange in Europe, the company announced on Thursday. “This approval authorizes us to operate the first tokenized stock exchange dedicated to equities in Europe,” Lise managing director Mark Kepeneghian said in a statement on LinkedIn. Read more

The Bank of France’s governor called for crypto oversight to be given to the European Securities and Markets Authority, and for tightening MiCA’s rules on stablecoin issuance. The Bank of France called on the EU to give its markets regulator direct supervision over major crypto firms, warning that fragmented oversight could threaten the bloc’s financial sovereignty. Speaking at the ACPR-AMF Fintech Forum in Paris on Thursday, Bank of France Governor François Villeroy de Galhau said the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) should be given the mandate to directly oversee crypto-asset issuers under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework.  “I also advocate, along with the president of the AMF, for European supervision of crypto-asset issuers, carried out by ESMA,” he said, adding that it may guarantee the consistent application of rules and reduce risks.  Read more

Bitcoin’s price pumped on news that the US Federal Reserve would cut rates by one quarter of a point. Crypto markets are up after the US Federal Reserve cut rates. But in other parts of the world, the picture isn’t so rosy. Thai bank customers are experiencing massive bank lockouts, and France says it could block companies operating on crypto licenses obtained in other parts of the European Union. Meanwhile, in Australia, securities regulators have made things easier for stablecoin distributors by scrapping a license requirement. Read more

While some legal experts see France’s threat as legally feasible, others argue that it’s only a warning for crypto firms looking for licensing loopholes in the EU. France’s warning that it may try to block cryptocurrency companies from operating in the country under licenses issued by other European Union member states — known as passporting — has raised questions about enforcement of the 27-nation bloc’s flagship crypto law. France’s securities regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), is considering a ban on crypto firms operating in France under licenses obtained in other member states, Reuters reported Monday. The move reportedly stems from the AMF’s concern that some crypto companies seek licenses in more lenient EU jurisdictions. The warning came less than a year after the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) took effect for crypto-asset service providers. MiCA was designed to create a harmonized framework across Europe and prevent the kind of regulatory arbitrage the AMF is flagg...

France signaled it may challenge the right of some crypto firms licensed in other European Union countries to operate domestically, escalating pressure for centralized oversight of the bloc’s digital asset industry, Reuters reported on Sept. 15. Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani, president of France’s financial regulator AMF, said the agency is increasingly concerned that under the EU’s new […] The post France moves to block crypto firms despite MiCA licensese due to lax standards in some jurisdictions appeared first on CryptoSlate.

France’s securities regulator is considering attempting to ban European license “passporting” over concerns related to MiCA regulation enforcement gaps in other EU countries. France warned it may try to block cryptocurrency companies operating locally under licenses obtained in other European countries, raising enforcement gap concerns regarding the European Union’s crypto regulatory framework. France’s securities regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), told Reuters Monday that it is concerned about potential regulatory enforcement gaps related to Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), the world’s first comprehensive crypto regulatory framework. Concerned that some crypto companies may seek licenses in more lenient EU jurisdictions, the AMF is considering a ban on operating in France under MiCA licenses obtained in other member states. Read more

French elite GIGN forces freed a Swiss hostage and arrested seven suspects in a cryptocurrency ransom plot near Valence-TGV station using nearly 150 officers, marking the latest incident in France's emergence as a global hotspot for crypto-linked violent crime with at least ten cases since January. The post France’s Crypto Kidnapping Crisis Continues as Police Free Swiss Hostage, Arrest Seven appeared first on Cryptonews.

French political party Rassemblement National is reportedly preparing a draft law to mine Bitcoin with surplus nuclear energy. Rassemblement National (RN), a French political party, is reportedly pushing to mine Bitcoin using surplus energy from nuclear power plants, signaling a shift from its leader’s previous anti-crypto stance.  French newspaper outlet Le Monde reported last week that RN leader and three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen now backs using idle nuclear energy for Bitcoin (BTC) mining. She reportedly promoted the plan during a visit to the Flamanville nuclear plant on March 11. The party said the initiative will turn wasted electricity into “secure and extremely profitable” digital assets.  According to Le Monde, RN lawmaker Aurélien Lopez-Liguori has spearheaded the proposal in the French Parliament, drafting a bill to install mining infrastructure at sites operated by the energy giant Électricité de France (EDF).  Read more

French lawmaker Sarah Knafo has invited Samson Mow to visit France, and Mow says he is keen to kick off a wave of nation-state Bitcoin adoption across Europe. Jan3 founder Samson Mow is setting his sights on ramping up Bitcoin nation-state adoption in Europe following a positive meeting with pro-Bitcoin French lawmaker Sarah Knafo. “Looking forward to starting a nation-state Bitcoin adoption wave in France and perhaps all of Europe,” Mow said in an X post on Saturday, following his meeting with Sarah Knafo, a French member of the European Parliament, at BTC Prague this week. They discussed plans to develop a Strategic Bitcoin (BTC) Reserve for France and promote “friendly regulations” for the asset. Mow said Knafo has invited his team to France. On the same day, Knafo addressed the meeting with Mow on her X account, stating, “France must take hold of these issues.” Read more

The latest reported “wrench attack,” in which criminals targeted individuals for their crypto holdings, occurred in the suburbs of Paris this week. France has reportedly seen another incident targeting cryptocurrency users, this time involving the kidnapping of a 23-year-old man in a Paris suburb. According to a Thursday report from French news outlet Le Parisien, the victim was abducted in Maisons-Alfort and held captive for several hours while the perpetrators demanded his partner to turn over 5,000 euros ($5,764) in cash, along with the key to a Ledger hardware wallet containing an unreported amount of crypto. The report suggested that the criminals used violence to extract information regarding his digital assets. Read more

The Telegram founder will once again be allowed to travel to Dubai for a short period before returning to France, where his case is ongoing. Telegram founder Pavel Durov gained court approval to leave France for up to 14 days to travel to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where the company is headquartered. Durov will be allowed to leave France on July 10 after having a travel request denied by French officials in May, according to French news outlet Le Monde. The executive had requested permission to travel to Oslo, Norway, to deliver a keynote address at the Human Rights Foundation’s Oslo Freedom Forum, which was presented remotely after French officials rejected his travel application. Read more

According to the Telegram founder, France’s political leaders continue to make poor choices regarding censorship. Telegram founder Pavel Durov warned that France may experience a societal collapse if it continues down its current political trajectory of censorship and regulatory policies during an interview on Wednesday. “Emmanuel Macron isn’t making the right choices. I’m very disappointed. France is getting weaker and weaker,” Durov said in a translated excerpt from an interview with French outlet Le Point. Durov added: When we delay necessary reforms too long, we end up experiencing a collapse,” the Telegram founder continued, warning that France was losing talent to other jurisdictions like Dubai. Read more

In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Pavel Durov’s first since being indicted on six charges in 2024, said his company did nothing wrong. Telegram founder Pavel Durov is still trying to figure out why he was detained in France last August, though the motives may have been political and tied to authorities’ efforts to crack down on alleged illicit activity on the messaging platform. That was one of the key takeaways from Durov’s interview with Tucker Carlson, which premiered Tuesday on YouTube.  In his first interview since his Aug. 24, 2024, arrest at Bourget Airport outside Paris, Durov said French authorities appeared primarily interested in how Telegram works — “as if it’s some kind of mystery,” he quipped. Read more

Pornhub’s France block over age checks sparked a 1,000% ProtonVPN signup surge, highlighting pushback against ID laws.

Moroccan police have arrested a dual-national French-Moroccan man wanted for an alleged connection with a series of kidnappings in France that targetted individuals with crypto holdings, Reuters reported on June 4, citing a source familiar with the case. According to the source, Moroccan police identified the man as Bajjou Badiss Mohamed AmiDe, who is 24 […] The post Moroccan police arrests suspect behind recent crypto-related kidnappings in France appeared first on CryptoSlate.