French Regulators Warns Citizens to Exercise Vigilance While Trading On Bybit
In a recent announcement, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) issued a cautionary notice to French investors, warning them to exercise utmost caution and vigilance when trading on the popular cryptocurrency platform Bybit.
The Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) is an autonomous French regulator responsible for overseeing the country’s financial market, including investments and financial services.
The warning came with further clarification that the AMF has blacklisted the trading platform in question since May 2022 for refusing to comply with existing French regulations.
The French Crypto Regulations
According to the announcement, any individuals or organizations that intend to provide digital asset custody services to French investors or allow them to buy and sell digital assets on their platform must first undergo security scrutiny.
The notice concerning the mandatory audit said, “This registration makes it possible to maintain public order through prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, to verify the good reputation and competence of its directors, or even to impose specific measures to protect retail investors.”
Intending crypto platforms must go through compulsory registration as a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP). However, Bybit is one of the platforms that are not registered as a DASP.
Hence, such unregistered platforms are termed ‘illegal, ‘the AMF will have to restrict access to their websites under the Monetary and Financial Code.
Despite the absence of a current ban, France’s regulatory bodies are considering prohibiting Bybit from offering cryptocurrency services to its investors. In the meantime, the authorities advise French crypto traders to proceed cautiously when using the platform to avoid potential asset losses.
Authorities Have Not Banned Bybit Globally
Although Bybit is experiencing regulatory hostility from some countries, such as the US, Syria, Iran, Russia, Uzbekistan, and North Korea, crypto investors from over 200 countries across the globe can still trade on the platform.
Recently, the crypto platform reported that some crypto exchanges will run out of BTC in months. The report also hinted that the price of BTC could go up when that happens.
