U.K. blockchain startup Setl is about to enter an E.U. settlement system after receiving approval from the French securities regulator to run a central securities depository, the Financial Times (FT) writes Tuesday, Oct. 23. Setl, which develops blockchain solutions for the financial sector, received a license from the Autorite des Marches Financiers and can now connect to the Target2-Securities platform — a €1 billion pan-European network for securities settlement run by the European Central bank with the aim to increase the speed of cross-border payments. As per the FT, official approval for Setl to join the depository will be issued …

U.S. tech giant IBM has officially launched its blockchain-based food tracking network, Food Trust, after 18 months of testing, the company revealed in a press-release Monday, October 8. In the same announcement, the corporation revealed that another major food retailer Carrefour is joining their ecosystem. The France-based company that operates more than 12,000 stores in 33 countries will first test blockchain on their own stores. As IBM’s press release reports, by 2022 Carrefour is planning to expand blockchain to all of its brands around the world. IBM Food Trust was first announced back in 2016 as a blockchain solution that …

French stock market regulator, the Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF), announced it is blacklisting 21 new investment websites, including multiple crypto-related sites, September 26. The AMF characterizes the new additions as “unauthorized websites” that offer “atypical investments,” and directs users to its existing blacklist, which it notes is “not comprehensive.” In March, the AMF had added 15 websites — including those related to crypto and crypto-assets — to its blacklist, reminding consumers that “no advertising materials should make you overlook the fact that high returns always involve high risk.” Cointelegraph has this month reported on a similar move from Belgian …

Today, the Assemblée Nationale (the French parliament’s lower house) is initiating a debate about a legal project introduced last June by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, which contains some relevant changes for the French regulatory framework with regard to crypto assets and ICOs, together with many proposals aimed at sustaining the development of “liberated companies that are better funded, more innovative and fairer.” This innovation, stimulated by the Plan d'Action pour la Croissance et la Transformation des Entreprises (PACTE – Action Plan for Business Growth and Transformation) would be an important step drawing France closer to …

The French government is reportedly planning to provide a legal framework for all “digital assets” providers, local news agency LesEcho.fr reported September 21. Three members of President Emmanuel Macron’s party, La République En Marche (LREM), have proposed an amendment to French legislation for regulating all service providers in the crypto industry, sources told LesEcho.fr. The National Assembly is reportedly set to discuss the amendment by the end of September. The amendment, tabled by LREM MPs Valeria Faure-Muntian, Christine Hennion, and Eric Bothorel, has the aim of widening the existing legal framework in order to allow all crypto market participants to …

Major league Italian soccer club Juventus announced Monday, September 24, it will launch its own cryptocurrency “fan token,” two weeks after a similar announcement from Paris Saint-Germain. The product of a partnership with “blockchain-based fan engagement platform” Socios.com, the Italian club aims to release its “Juventus Official Fan Token” as soon as Q1 next year. Like France’s Saint-Germain, which revealed its Fan Token plans with Socios earlier this month, Juventus aims to use the tradeable asset principally for fan voting and polling. The club currently ranks top in Italy and number two worldwide, with a fanbase reportedly topping 60 million. …

France’s Minister for the Economy and Finance has announced that the government has accepted an article of the Business Growth and Transformation bill (PACTE) dedicated to Initial Coin Offerings (ICO), according to a tweet posted Wednesday, September 12. As finance Minister Bruno Le Maire states, the French stock markets regulator Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) is now empowered to give licenses to companies that want to raise funds via an ICO, with the legislation aiming to help protect contributors’ interests. Le Maire also hopes that the current legal framework for ICOs in France will “attract investors from all over the …

French soccer club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is partnering with blockchain platform Socios.com to launch a token ecosystem, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph September 11. PSG plays in the highest tier of France’s soccer league and has been hailed as the country’s “most popular” team. Socios describes itself as a digitized, tokenized form of the “Socios” crowd-management concept of Real Madrid & FC Barcelona — “socios” means member or associate in Spanish. The platform is powered by a sports blockchain venture dubbed chiliZ, which has the backing of high profile crypto industry players that include crypto exchange Binance. …

French electric utility company ENGIE and consulting firm Maltem Consulting Group have jointly established a blockchain development firm designed for commercial customers, according to a press release published September 7. The new project called Blockchain Studio received seed funding totalling €1.9 million (around $2.1 million). Blockchain Studio has created a software suite for commercial enterprises comprised of two fundamental tools. One tool is focused on the development of smart contracts and enables its application by users without technical background. The other tool manages the creation of cloud-based or server-based blockchain infrastructure. According to the announcement, the company is planning to …

The Supreme Civil and Criminal Court of Greece has ruled to extradite alleged BTC-e owner Alexander Vinnik to Russia to face several cyber fraud charges, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reports Tuesday, September 4. The formal decision on extradition to Russia will be issued September 14, coming into force the same day. During the actual hearing, the Supreme Court will also consider France’s request on the alleged BTC-e owner’s extradition. According to RIA, Vinnik agreed with his extradition to Russia. “[This case] is now up to politicians and their will,” his attorney Timofey Musatov stated. The U.S., France, and …

Alleged former owner of crypto exchange BTC-e Alexander Vinnik was indicted and subjected to a "fake" interrogation by French prosecutors on Tuesday, August 28, his attorney Timofey Musatov told Russian news outlet Izvestiya Thursday, August 30. Musatov claims that his client Vinnik was brought to a court in Greece where he is currently awaiting extradition and then informed about official charges in France. Musatov also told Izvestiya that French prosecutors attempted to hold a "fake" interrogation without informing his lawyers, which he insists was a violation of Vinnik’s rights. He further explains that under Greek law only local security forces …

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has officially announced a Blockchain Policy Forum in a release on the OECD website August 28. The OECD states that the event will be held in Paris September 4-5 and will mark the first major international event of its kind, dedicated to blockchain technology. Organizers plan to focus on the use of blockchain tech in government activities and public initiatives as well as regulatory aspects. The Blockchain Policy Forum also plans to discussing the technology’s potential global economic impact, privacy and cybersecurity, inclusiveness, the promotion of green growth and sustainability, and governance …