France is targeting cryptocurrency exchange with widened anti-money laundering checks to determine which will be granted European Union (EU)-wide licensing, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
Conbase (COIN) and Binance are among those exchanges being reviewed, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the matter.
The French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR) has been conducting site checks since late 2024 and has instructed Binance to strengthen its risk controls.
Failure to meet the requirements set by ACPR could compromise an exchange’s ability to get a Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) license from France, which allows firms to offer services against the whole EU.
Companies have until the end of June next year to obtain said license.
“Engagement with the ACPR is an ongoing component of operating as an AML-registered company and AML framework reviews are a routine part of the ACPR’s regulatory oversight,” a Binance spokesperson said in an emailed comment. “The ACPR is conducting these checks across dozens of exchanges, as further detailed in their 2024 annual report.”
Neither Coinbase nor the ACPR responded to CoinDesk’s request for comment.
UPDATE (Oct. 17, 16:10 UTC): Adds emailed comment from Binance.
