Binance Wants To Strengthen Its Presence In France, Launches Initiative To Support The Country’s Cryptocurrency And Blockchain Sector

The past year was a turbulent one for Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platform. The year was filled with one regulation-related problem to another and the company did suffer from the ups and downs that cryptocurrency faced this year.

The platform may be looking to start afresh this year with a new initiative it launched recently. Binance has announced a 100 million euro initiative aimed at supporting the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector in France.

The initiative, coined Objective Moon, was first announced in November last year. Through the initiative, Binance plans to establish a research and development office in the country as well as partner on an incubator program for startups and training programs.

According to Binance’s French General Manager David Princay, “The aim of Objective Moon is really to develop an ecosystem and to nurture and accelerate an ecosystem. You cannot do it alone. We need to be also able to capture the talent and to have more capabilities to grow bigger. Having an R&D centre is one step that we need to go for our next evolution”.

The project Objective Moon will see crypto hardware firm Ledger and edtech company OpenClassroom collaborate to develop educational programs.

Binance’s intention to set up in France has caused some stir both within and outside the country. The country’s apex bank has made it known that if Binance wants to set up operations in the country, it must have strong anti-money laundering checks in place.

France’s digital minister Cedric O was present at Binance’s Objective Moon announcement. ″Cedric O has been very clear with us, they are welcome to see us and to have us, but they are also very exigent and that’s for the better”, Binance’s French General Manager David Princay adding that the company was already in talks with regulators and necessary bodies on licensing.

“It’s a very positive sign for innovation. We need to be fully scrutinized and audited to pass and that’s for the better because when we’re going to pass, it is going to be a sign of trust, compliance. Our aim is to be 100% compliant in every activity and country we operate”, he added.

Right now, compared to other countries, France is an enabling ground for cryptocurrency and blockchain and the Objective Moon initiative looks like it’ll be a success. In 2021, the country recorded huge gains in regards to the crypto space and fintech investments.

In 2021, Binance had a cat-and-mouse relationship with regulators across the world, from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority to the US Commodity Futures Trading Authority. In Singapore for instance, Binance trading operations were shut down by the country’s regulator.

Binance, however, made it known last year that it is willing to work with regulators to ensure smooth operations in its business, and this willingness extends to France where it plans to set up operations.