Institutional investors are looking for ways to participate in the crypto market without going out of the regulated space or mastering the advanced technology behind Bitcoin (BTC), and asset managers are finding alternative solutions to meet the need. Paris-based investment management company Melanion Capital partnered with index platform Bita to launch the Melanion Bitcoin Exposure Index, according to information shared with Cointelegraph. The index tracks a beta-weighted equities basket exhibiting the highest correlation and revenue exposure to BTC to follow the biggest cryptocurrency’s performance in a traditional investment fund format. Melanion Bitcoin Exposure Index is built to provide investors “with …

Bank of France governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said that Europe should make crypto regulation a priority or risk digital assets challenging its monetary sovereignty. At a Paris Europlace financial conference today, Villeroy said he believed the European Union only had “one or two years” left in which to establish a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. To not act, according to the central bank governor, would “risk of an erosion of our monetary sovereignty” and potentially weaken the euro. "I must stress here the urgency: we do not have much time left, one or two years," said Villeroy. “On both [digital] …

A new protocol says it is powering blockchain-backed digital democracy — creating voting platforms that are completely devoid of any external private or public influence. Civicpower has bold ambitions to become the world’s biggest blockchain-backed voting app, and a one-stop-shop where the public can have their say. Governments and organizations can use this platform to canvass opinion, and the infrastructure is also well-suited to performing referendums where the public are given two choices. Crucially, this protocol is open to all — and that means any citizen can create their very own ballot. High-profile influencers can also engage their community in …

The German Football Association (DFB) has officially announced the debut of national soccer team nonfungible tokens (NFTs) in partnership with a major blockchain-based fantasy soccer game provider Sorare. As part of an official license agreement, the DFB will create digital collectible cards on the Ethereum blockchain of 18 players on the German national team through Sorare’s platform. According to an announcement from Sorare, the cards will be available for use in Sorare’s Global Fantasy Football game for the Euro 2020 soccer championship. By issuing player NFT cards on Sorare’s platform, the DFB aims to find new revenue streams as well …

The central bank of France — Banque de France — is continuing its work on the development of a European central bank digital currency (CBDC). On Monday the bank officially announced the successful completion of a CBDC experiment with major Switzerland-based cryptocurrency bank SEBA. Conducted in collaboration with SEBA, Banque Internationale à Luxembourg, and Luxembourg central securities depository LuxCSD, the experiment used a CBDC to simulate the settlement and delivery of listed securities on TARGET2-Securities (T25), a European securities settlement engine. SEBA purchased securities from Banque Internationale à Luxembourg, with post-trade settlement managed by LuxCSD. Related: Digital euro offers better …

With the Euro 2020 championship in progress, blockchain-based fantasy soccer game Sorare has announced the licensing agreement for a national sports association to issue nonfungible tokens of its players. In an announcement today, Sorare said the France Football Federation, or FFF, had launched its own line of player nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, prior to the team’s match against Germany on Tuesday. The French National Team — often called “The Blues” for the color of their shirts — is currently competing in the 2020 Union of European Football Associations European Football Championship. The Euro 2020 tournament was postponed last year due …

At a meeting in London earlier this month, the finance ministers from the G7 — the United States, Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Canada — unanimously agreed to begin creating the framework for a global corporate tax rate. The framework laid out a “two pillar” principle. The first pillar ensures that companies that make a 10% profit margin would be subject to the tax rate. The second pillar ensures that countries will charge a 15% minimum tax rate. Under all of this, the new rules will focus on where the profit was made and not where the company is …

The Bank of France and the Swiss National Bank are teaming up with the Bank for International Settlements’ Innovation Hub to test a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) system dubbed “Project Jura.” According to a release by the Bank of France on Thursday, the Project Jura pilot study will also draw participation from a private consortium led by global service company Accenture. Other establishments in the private consortium include Credit Suisse, UBS, SIX Digital Exchange and R3. The experiment will reportedly use two wholesale CBDCs — one pegged to the euro and the other pegged to the Swiss franc. …

Groupe Casino, a 120-year-old retail company headquartered in France, will reportedly be launching a stablecoin pegged to the Euro. According to journalist Grégory Raymond, the French retail giant will be launching the stablecoin to use in its stores’ loyalty programs as well as for trading. Groupe Casino oversees more than 11,000 stores in France and Latin America. The coin has reportedly been developed using the Tezos protocol in partnership with crypto exchange Coinhouse, accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, stablecoin infrastructure provider Sceme, research and development firm Nomadic Labs, and financial services group Societe Generale. The new stablecoin, called the Lugh — named …

France’s top financial regulator has proposed to change the way the cryptocurrency industry is supervised in Europe. Robert Ophèle, chairman of Autorité des Marchés Financiers, addressed crypto-realted regulatory issues at the 5th Annual Conference on FinTech and Regulation. The official argued that financial supervisors must take a new approach in regulating blockchain-based financial instruments due to massive growth in the market. Ophèle proposed that the European Securities and Markets Authority, or ESMA, should be the responsible authority for this new area of regulation and supervision. Ophèle emphasized that the current stage of regulation in the European Union would make it …

The Bank of France successfully piloted a central bank digital currency — or CBDC — experiment in December, using the technology to settle monetary fund shares on a private blockchain platform for the first time. As announced by Le Banque de France on Jan. 19, the pilot commenced on Dec. 17, and saw 2 million euros ($2.4 million) worth of simulated shares purchased and sold by investors using a CBDC. The pilot took place with distributed ledger technology provided by SETL — a UK-based regulated blockchain services provider, which also provided the CBDC stablecoin. SETL’s IZNEZ record-keeping platform was used …

The defense team of Alexander Vinnik, an alleged Bitcoin launderer who was sentenced to a five-year prison term, disagrees with the court’s decision. According to a Dec. 18 report by Russian news agency Kommersant, Vinnik’s attorney Frederic Belot has appealed the French court’s judgement, arguing that the defendant was not involved in any money laundering operations. Citing a Dec. 6 judgement charging Vinnik for “money laundering as part of an organized criminal group,” Belot emphasized that no “criminal group” consists of one person. “The court did not name a single name even supposedly belonging to this group,” Belot reportedly said. …