France Wrestles With Crypto-Regulation | PYMNTS.com

France is among countries increasingly grappling with the challenges of regulating cryptocurrencies, Euronews reported.

The country has “several billion” dollars sitting in crypto wallets, and one of the goals of some policymakers is to encourage the spending of those funds, according to the report.

One proposal is to establish a flat tax rate of 30% on crypto assets instead of the current system that taxes crypto assets at rate from 30% to 45%, the report stated. Another proposal would exempt from taxation purchases of less than approximately $3,500 made with cryptocurrencies.

Minister of Public Action and Accounts Olivier Dussopt has come out against the proposals, per the report, arguing that the government needs more time to figure out what policies would be best.

“The 30% tax on capital gains on disposal is not attractive enough,” French politician Eric Woerth said, according to the report. “We must encourage the many investors to transform their crypto assets into fiat money.”

Two weeks ago, Cointelegraph reported that France’s main stock market regulator, Autorité des Marchés Financiers — commonly referred to by the acronym AMF — warned investors about alleged risks from dealing with unauthorized cryptocurrency services.

“The authority strongly recommended that investors follow the list of authorized investment providers using the online register of financial service providers as well as the list of authorized providers in the financial investment advisor or crowdfunding categories,” the report stated.

The argument followed similar warnings by stock market authorities in Australia, according to Cointelegraph.

In other news, Ripple, a blockchain solutions provider, has joined the Digital Pound Foundation, a nonprofit focused on the creation and implementation of a digital pound in the United Kingdom.

Read more: Ripple Joins Nonprofit Focused on Creating Digital Pound

Ripple sees the U.K. as a frontrunner of growth in the crypto-asset space, and the development of a digital pound is the logical culmination.

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