Journalist/ Amy Tsai
According to a news released by Kg.com in late-July, Yin Tsao, a senior blockchain analyst from China, described France as the “Blockchain Desert in Europe.” While French government did realize the potential and value of this innovative technology, Tsao argued that its development would face significant challenges due to strict financial regulations and the underdeveloped Internet industry compared to Germany. The question is: What is France’s current progress in the blockchain revolution?
The Current Situation Is Not That Dismal
When searching the term “blockchain,” there are relatively few results coming up in French, especially timely, in-depth analyses. However, it does not mean the French government and entrepreneurs have zero awareness or nothing to do with it.
For instance, in a 2016 interview published by L’Atelier, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas Group, the authors of the book La Blockchain décryptée, les clés d’une revolution (The Blockchain demystified, the keys to a revolution) admitted “a real lack of information” in France’s blockchain ecosystem compared to the English-speaking world. Thus, they decided to spread the knowledge of this subject by “writing informative articles.”
The authors together founded Blockchain France, which has helped individuals and organizations to understand the concepts and implications of blockchain. It then merged with Blockchain Lab to form Blockchain Partner, a leading French company today in blockchain strategy consulting, technical development, and more.
The progression could also find in partnerships between existing companies. This year, Request Network Foundation, a decentralized network built on Ethereum, teamed up with PwC France and the Francophone Africa Blockchain Laboratory, aiming to “influence and develop the future of professional services across a range of industries,” according to an article published by Digital Journal.
Although France may fall behind in some ways regarding blockchain development and information compared to countries like the United Kingdom and the United States, what is noteworthy is that France is likely to play a major part in introducing the technology to French-speaking Africa. The partnership mentioned above, for example, is setting its foot. Given the fragile nature of finance and regulations of developing countries, experts expect blockchain to become crucial and therefore lucrative in African business sectors.
The French Government: We Won’t Miss the Blockchain Revolution
The French government is gradually changing its conservative stance on digital currencies and ICOs. Just earlier this month, Anji Ismail, CEO of Varanida, a blockchain-based advertising ecosystem, published the op-ed “Thanks to Blockchain Technology, the Entrepreneurial Spirit in France Has Never Been Stronger” on Entrepreneur Europe. He pointed out that while France was not the main hub for blockchain innovation, it was indeed very fast-growing. Part of the reason is that it hopes to attract foreign investors to Paris after Brexit. Currently, the government is working on a legislative framework for initial coin offerings (ICOs) and has dramatically cut the cryptocurrency tax rate from 45% to a flat 19%.
“We are going to take advantage of the Financial Regulation Ordinance, which is responsible for updating cash certificates and creating mini-cash, to experiment on the blockchain,” said President Macron, former Economy Minister of France.
Furthermore, according to a graph released by Cointelegraph in May, France is one of the top 10 countries per ICO amounts, representing 2.30% of global ICO projects. In addition to the government’s endeavors, French banks are also discussing to offer eligible crypto entities the status “prestataire de services de banque,” which is similar to the “broker dealer” in the United States, reported by blockchain.io.
While the future of France’s blockchain development remains unclear, the French government has proved its strong support of this technology and therefore incubated numerous projects and attracted investors. More innovations, as expected, are on their way. Jean-Pierre Landau, former Second Deputy Governor of the Banque de France, alleged that it was unnecessary for France to regulate Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire also mentioned that the French blockchain and crypto sectors would now gain full support from the government.
What is known for sure is that France, especially in nowadays, is certainly not a “blockchain desert,” but a rapid and thriving accelerator in innovation and entrepreneurship with a promising outlook, as Le Maire suggested that “We won’t miss the blockchain revolution.”
