Today the issuer of the USDC stablecoin Circle said it has applied for an e-money license with the Banque de France’s prudential regulator ACPR. It also hopes to become a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) under the French regulator Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) regime.
Choosing a country to register in Europe is critical because the jurisdiction acts as a gateway to the rest of Europe under the MiCAR crypto regulations that cover stablecoins and are expected to come into force in 2024. It could be viewed as a big win for France. Both because some expect Circle to be a major payments player. And because other crypto firms will assume Circle has done its homework and follow its lead.
That said, so far the US Dollar is completely dominant when it comes to stablecoins. Circle’s EUROC has a market capitalization of €29 million compared to USDC’s $35 billion for USDC (which is down $8 billion since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.)
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