The French government has announced its intention to develop a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.
France’s Minister of the Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, announced this week a “mission” aimed at developing cryptocurrency regulations.
“We want a stable economy: we reject the risks of speculation and the possible financial misappropriations related to bitcoin,” Le Maire said. “I asked the Argentine G20 presidency to take up this issue and I have entrusted Jean-Pierre Landau, former Deputy Governor of the Banque de France, a mission on cryptocurrencies.”
The move comes at a time when the cryptocurrency market is witnessing heightened volatility. Bitcoin price, which surged to an all-time high at 19666 levels in December, is now on the downward spiral. It dropped to 9222 levels on January 17 and is currently tradng at 11713 levels at the time of writing (Bitstamp).
“This mission will propose to me guidelines on the evolution of the regulations in order to better control the development and prevent their use for the purposes of tax evasion, laundering or financing of criminal activities or terrorism,” the Minister added.
In the past couple of weeks, the South Korean government has also announced its plans to curb speculation in cryptocurrencies. It is also considering whether to impose a complete ban on virtual currency trading in the country.
