USD Coin issuer Circle has secured conditional Digital Asset Service Provider registration from French authorities and appointed JP Morgan and PayPal veteran Coralie Billmann to spearhead its operations in the country.
Circle first outlined plans to make crypto-friendly France its European base last year as it bids to expand its operations on the continent and push its EUROC stablecoin.
Having secured the DASP registration, the company still needs to obtain approval as a payment services provider or a registration as an agent of a PSP to start operations in France. To get this, it has applied for an Electronic Money Institution license.
Billmann joins after helping to launch licensed EMI 3S Money Club. Prior to that, she led high growth tech sales expansion for JP Morgan in Paris and was Emea Treasurer at PayPal.
Jeremy Allaire, CEO, Circle, says: "The issuance of this conditional DASP registration in France marks a significant early milestone as we work towards establishing our European regulatory platform.
"With Coralie Billmann joining Circle, her deep market expertise and leadership will be instrumental in furthering our regulatory efforts and deepening our connections in France."