Stablecoin issuer Circle has obtained a digital asset regulatory license in France and appointed a new head of French operations.
Circle said in a statement that it has obtained conditional registration as a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) from the French Financial Markets Authority. Taking on the role of Head of French Operations is Coralie Billmann, who currently serves as Chief Operating Officer for Europe and Director of 3S Money, a global business accounts and payments company.
This move deepens Circle’s compliance with European standards, particularly with regard to the Markets in Cryptocurrency Assets (MiCA) Regulations, the legal framework for cryptocurrency asset companies interacting with markets within the European Union. In addition to leading licensing operations in France, Billmann will help ensure Circle’s MiCA readiness.
European regulatory platform
“The issuance of conditional DASP registration in France is an important early milestone as we work to build a European regulatory platform,” Jeremy Allaire, Circle co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. “With Coralie Billmann joining Circle, her deep market expertise and leadership will play a critical role in strengthening our regulatory efforts and deepening our relationships in France.”
Prior to 3S Money, Billman led payments high-growth technology sales at JP Morgan and served as EMEA treasurer at PayPal Luxembourg, according to his LinkedIn profile. He needs approval from regulators to take up his new role at Circle.
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet delivering news, research and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor in The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the cryptocurrency space. Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget is an anchor LP of Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to provide objective, impactful and timely information about the cryptocurrency industry. Below are our current financial disclosures.
© 2023 The Block. All rights reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not provided or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial or other advice.
About the author
MK Manoylov has been a reporter for The Block since 2020, joining just before Bitcoin surpassed $20,000 for the first time. Since then, MK has written nearly 1,000 articles for publications covering all cryptocurrency-related news, preferring NFTs, metaverse, web3 games, fundraising, crime, hacking, and cryptocurrency ecosystem stories. MK holds a graduate degree from New York University’s Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting Program (SHERP) and has also covered health topics for WebMD and Insider. X You can follow MK at @MManoylov and on LinkedIn.