European businesses may soon have a new jurisdiction in which to experiment with security tokens while regulators evaluate the pros and cons. France’s markets regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers — or AMF — is considering a regulatory sandbox meant to study the impact of security tokens in the European Union. The AMF announced on March 6 that it proposed a European “Digital Lab” regulatory sandbox allowing local regulators to waive requirements related to security settlements. The regulator hopes that such measures would result in the development of security token market infrastructure that could lead to a secure legal environment. …

Initial findings show French international banking group BNP Paribas is blocking customers from sending funds to major crypto exchange platform Coinbase. The block seems to have been initiated this week, although transfers functioned normally during the week of March 2, an anonymous source and BNP Paribas customer told Cointelegraph, referring to his interactions with the bank’s customer service department. But the bank has reportedly not closed off transactions to other crypto exchanges, the source added. The bank still seems to allow transfers to Binance’s European branch, Binance Jersey. BNP Paribas cited several reasons for blocking transfers Cointelegraph’s source shared recordings …

A French commerce court has classified Bitcoin (BTC) as currency during a recent trial. Local news outlet Les Echos reported on March 5 that the Commercial Court of Nanterre decided on Feb. 26 to qualify Bitcoin as a fungible interchangeable asset that is not individualizable, just like fiat money. The ruling was part of a dispute between French cryptocurrency exchange Paymium and alternative asset investment firm BitSpread. Per the report, Paymium loaned 1,000 BTC (over $9.1 million as of press time) to BitSpread in 2014. When holding the leased 1,000 BTC, BitSpread also got hold of 1,000 Bitcoin Cash (BCH) …

Organizers in Paris have rescheduled a major local blockchain industry event due to the coronavirus outbreak. According to an announcement on March 2, the Paris Blockchain Week Summit — initially meant to take place from March 31 to April 1 — is now expected to take place on Dec. 9–10. The organizers rescheduled the event due to recent guidelines issued by the French government which prohibit large gatherings that could increase the scope and severity of the coronavirus outbreak. A major industry event The announcement stated that the conference will proceed as expected and “the venue, schedule and setup remain …

The French cybersecurity company Nigma Conseil and the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) have revealed to have collaborated on developing a new blockchain forensics tool. The agreement was signed on Feb. 25 to work on e-Nigma, a proposed compliance tool. E-Nigma provides its users with a way of conducting due diligence investigations in response to Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulation. Like other similar tools, it monitors and organizes blockchain transactions. The platform provides several advanced features such as risk scoring and wallet clustering. It is able to identify addresses with real-life identities by scraping through both …

After spending 30 months in detention, Greek authorities have finally extradited the Russian national and alleged Bitcoin (BTC) money launderer Alexander Vinnik to France. Prosecutors in France are charging Vinnik, operator of the defunct BTC-e crypto exchange, with multiple counts of money laundering, extortion and conspiracy. Vinnik also has pending extradition requests from both Russia and the United States. The alleged Bitcoin criminal has previously stated his preference for extradition to his native homeland, which Greek officials have turned down. Thus, after the conclusion of his trial in France, Vinnik will return to Greece to face another extradition to the …

IBM Food Trust blockchain platform has onboarded one more French manufacturer seeking to enhance transparency of product provenance and supply chain. The Avril Group, a vegetable oil, eggs and protein manufacturer, and the owner of brands Matines and Lesieur, has begun using IBM Food Trust network to ensure traceability of its products, according to a Feb. 4 press release. Improving corporate social responsibility and customer experience By applying blockchain, the Avril Group expects to make improvements in its corporate social responsibility, especially when it comes to sectors such as quality livestock and the consideration of animal welfare. Matines is looking …

French fintech companies Ingenico and Worldline are set to merge, according to a Feb. 3 press release. The €7.8 billion ($8.6 billion) buyout deal was accepted by shareholders of the companies, both of which had previous exposure to crypto. The merger and significance for shareholders As part of the agreement, Worldline will offer Ingenico shareholders a mixed cash and stock compensation, with a premium of 17 percent over its Monday trading levels. The combined entity will be held primarily by Wordline shareholders, with 65 percent, while the remaining 35 percent will be in the hands of Ingenico investors. The merger …

French, Belgian and Israeli investigators have brought down a scheme that defrauded €6 million ($6.64 million) from French and Belgian citizens, a Jan 29. press release from Europol reads. The fraudsters promised significant returns for the victims’ investment in what appears to have been a Ponzi scheme. The international network of fraudsters was allegedly masterminded by a French-Israeli citizen. Authorities arrested nine suspects connected with the scam in 2019. The investigation started in 2018 and was coordinated by Europol and Eurojust. The criminals reportedly set up a system promising large gains from investments in Bitcoin, diamonds and gold, and offered …

As the United Kingdom exits the European Union, a new ad campaign by French crypto hardware wallet firm Ledger is reviving one of the most divisive pro-Brexit slogans, “Take Back Control,” to ambiguous effect. An email shared with Cointelegraph on Jan. 30 revealed Ledger’s mock-up of a planned billboard for an installation in London’s Canary Wharf, one of the capital’s prime financial districts. Ledger’s plans for a digital billboard in London’s Canary Wharf. Shared with Cointelegraph via email The billboard reads ”Let’s Take Back Control For Real” — a modified version of the 2016 pro-Brexit campaign’s notorious “Take Back Control” …

French authorities have charged former operator of now-shuttered crypto exchange BTC-e and Russian national Alexander Vinnik. Bloomberg reported on Jan. 28 that Vinnik’s lawyers said that he will remain in France to face his charges following his recent extradition from Greece. According to an unspecified official at the prosecutor’s office, Vinnik was charged with extortion, aggravated money laundering, conspiracy and harming automatic data-processing systems. The legal shuttle One of his lawyers said that after his trial in France has run its course, authorities are expected to send him back to Greece so he can be extradited to the United States. …

The fan token of top-tier soccer team Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is now available for sale on the blockchain platform Socios, the team announced in a tweet on Jan. 28. As one of the first uses of the $PSG Fan Token, holders will vote on an inspirational message to be printed on the armband of the captain — Thiago Silva — when the team takes the pitch. According to a tandem announcement from Socios, the PSG fan token offering, or FTO, is now open on its website. Socios also offered an AR token hunt game for its native Chiliz $CHZ tokens …