• French regulators have approved a first ICO in France as Europe gains traction in legitimizing ICOs and blockchain projects

French markets regulator AMF (Autorité des marchés financiers) has announced that it has approved the first initial coin offering (ICO) in the country, provided it fulfills basic conditions. Token sales until now have been legal in the country subject to regulatory clearance from the AMF but until now, no ICO has received it. A company called French-ICO has been granted the status of approved after several months of deliberation on the matter.

However, AMF cautioned further cryptocurrency projects in the country as they stated that they do not regulate the issuers but rather the ICOs themselves. The extent of the clearance is only for six months and after that, the ICO will need to apply for further extension.

In addition to giving clearance certificate to ICOs, AMF also maintains a blacklist and whitelist of ICOs. The purpose of this new approach is to help facilitate the industry while at the same time rein in dubious projects and scams that attempt to con people.

France remains one of the most crypto progressive countries in the world and is setting the bar higher and higher for others. Germany is also expected to approve ICOs in the near future while in the USA, ICOs are still almost outrightly banned.

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