The French financial regulator, Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), has announced that Binance, the world’s largest exchange, must ensure anti-money laundering compliance before setting up a regional hub in Paris.
Earlier this month, CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) described the French capital as the “best choice” for headquarters.
Binance is not ready to settle in France
Binance was recently on a mission to find a new home. Founded as a decentralized platform “no headquarters and no borders”, it is currently changing structure and looking for a stop, as CZ recently explained. However, the company has some problems with global regulators, which could become an obstacle in their way.
Currently, France seems to be one of the suitable options for Binance to establish a global headquarters as the company has not had any problems with local supervisory authorities.
However, Reuters recently reported that setting up its headquarters here is not easy as local watchdogs insist that Binance must strengthen its AML compliance efforts.
“It’s a sign of the Paris market’s innovative dynamism, but this obviously depends on trust and credibility being guaranteed. That’s what will guide the ACPR and the AMF (financial markets authority) in their actions, especially on the key issue of anti-money laundering,” said Francois Villeroy de Galhau – the Governor of the French central bank.
A few days ago, Zhao said that Binance hopes to get a regulatory green light from AMF within 6 to 12 months. He added that 600 of Binance’s 3,500 employees are responsible for compliance and handling relationships with various regulators.
In early November, the exchange and non-profit association – France FinTech – joined forces to create a 100 million euro ($116 million) blockchain project in Europe. It is called “Objective Moon”, with the goal of supporting the development of the digital asset industry in France and the rest of Europe.
At the time, Zhao predicted the move could help France become a leader in the crypto space.
Sign up for a Binance account here: https://accounts.binance.com/en/register?ref=29171587
Read more:
- Binance Labs Invests $8 Million In DoraHacks To Build A More Open-Source Blockchain World
- Binance And France Fintech Are Launching The 100M EUR “Objective Moon” Initiative In France