Worldcoin (WLD) has announced its launch in Singapore a week after pausing operations in three other nations. In a new company blog post, Worldcoin – founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman – says that its launch in Singapore will cap off a landmark year for the identity verification protocol. “Individuals in Singapore can now verify […]
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An eye-scanning biometric crypto project is plummeting after reportedly pulling out of Brazil, France, and India. According to a new report by TechCrunch, digital ID-focused crypto asset Worldcoin (WLD), co-founded by OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, is leaving the three nations just months after launching its Orb verification services. Lily Gordon, a spokesperson for the […]
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The French artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI closed a funding round worth around $415 million as it strives to be the EU’s rival to OpenAI and accelerates the EU AI race.
French artificial intelligence (AI) startup Mistral AI has announced it raised €385 million ($415 million) in its latest funding round to develop its technology and open-source software.
Andreessen Horowitz and the company’s initial backers, Lightspeed Ventures, led the round, which closed on Dec. 11. This follows a previous funding round in June where Mistral raised $113 million in seed funding. The company is currently valued at around $2 billion.
Mistral AI focuses on open-source technology for generative AI tools, chatbot development and customizable features. It aims to make its products available to the general public in early 2024.
One of the largest banks in France is reportedly becoming the first traditional finance (TradFi) institution to issue its very own stablecoin. According to a new report by The Financial Times, French bank Societe Generale (SocGen) has launched its own Euro-pegged digital asset – dubbed the EUR ConVertible – on the Luxembourg-based crypto exchange platform […]
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One of the largest banks in France says it has issued the first-ever digital green bond as a security token on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. In a new press release, banking giant Societe Generale says it has issued the eco-friendly bond to increase transparency and traceability surrounding ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) data. “This transaction […]
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The unsecured bond has a value of 10 million euros and a maturity of three years, with all the proceeds going for eligible green activities investments.
The third-largest bank in France, Societe Generale, reported issuing its first digital green bond as a security token on the Ethereum public blockchain. The bond, registered by Forge, a subsidiary of Societe Generale, went public on Nov.
The bond has a value of 10 million euros (around $11 million) and a maturity of three years.
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The digital infrastructure of the bond grants 24/7 open access to the data on its carbon footprint through the bond’s smart contract.
“This enables issuers and investors to measure the carbon emissions of their securities on the financial infrastructure.”
Another innovation of the bond is a technical option for investors to settle securities on-chain through the EUR CoinVertible, a euro-pegged stablecoin issued by Forge in April 2023.
“While Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) solutions are being experimented, this panel of settlement methods demonstrates the large capabilities of SG-FORGE in providing full spectrum of on-chain services.”
Societe Generale has been active in the crypto sector, issuing euro bonds on the Ethereum blockchain and security tokens on the Tezos blockchain, as well as proposing Dai (DAI) stablecoin loans in exchange for bond tokens. In July 2023, Forge became the first company to obtain the highest access license for crypto services in France.
Only 34% of Canadians still believe that crypto “will play a key role in the future,” but the number of those able to give a basic definition of digital currencies has risen slightly.
The number of crypto hodlers in Canada dropped slightly in 2023, but the average value of their holdings rose significantly. However, 77% of respondents regret investing in crypto assets, according to a survey published by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).
The OSC published its “Crypto Assets Survey 2023” on Nov. 29, conducted in partnership with Ipsos at the end of May. The survey interviewed 2,360 Canadians selected to reflect an accurate proportion of the country’s population by gender, age and region.
The survey results reflect a general pessimism toward crypto in the country’s population, which could be due to the period when the research was done. While the number of Canadians able to give a basic definition of crypto rose from 51% in 2022 to 54% in 2023, only 34% now believe that crypto “will play a key role in the future,” compared with 49% in 2022.
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Fewer Canadians own crypto assets than a year ago, dropping from 13% in 2022 to 10% in 2023. These are most likely to be males aged 25–44 with a higher education diploma and a full-time job.
Despite the pessimism, 39% of respondents claimed their crypto portfolio is profitable, which is only slightly less than in 2022 (46%). And the average value of crypto portfolios rose dramatically from $52,975 in 2022 to $82,998 in 2023.
The most common reason for buying crypto remains consistent. In 2022 and 2023, respondents said crypto was a “speculative investment.” According to the survey, those who bought crypto as a “long-term investment” dropped from 29% to 20%.
The results of the Canadian survey match those of similar research conducted in France. Research by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showed that 9.4% of the French population holds crypto assets, which is only marginally lower than those holding real estate funds, which is the most popular type of investment asset.
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Amnesty’s secretary-general said the EU has a chance to lead with new AI regulations and member states shouldn’t “undermine” the forthcoming AI Act.
The secretary-general of Amnesty International, Anges Callamard, released a statement on Nov. 27 in response to three European Union member states pushing back on regulating artificial intelligence (AI) models.
France, Germany and Italy reached an agreement that included not adopting such stringent regulations for foundation models of AI, which is a core component of the EU’s forthcoming EU AI Act.
This came after the EU received multiple petitions from tech industry players asking the regulators not to over-regulate the nascent industry.
However, Callamard said the region has an opportunity to show “international leadership” with robust regulation of AI, and member states “must not undermine the AI Act by bowing to the tech industry’s claims that adoption of the AI Act will lead to heavy-handed regulation that would curb innovation.”
“Let us not forget that ‘innovation versus regulation’ is a false dichotomy that has for years been peddled by tech companies to evade meaningful accountability and binding regulation.”
She said this rhetoric from the tech industry highlights the “concentration of power” from a small group of tech companies who want to be in charge of the “AI rulebook.”
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Amnesty International has been a member of a coalition of civil society organizations led by the European Digital Rights Network advocating for EU AI laws with human rights protections at the forefront.
Callamard said human rights abuse by AI is “well documented” and “states are using unregulated AI systems to assess welfare claims, monitor public spaces, or determine someone’s likelihood of committing a crime.”
“It is imperative that France, Germany and Italy stop delaying the negotiations process and that EU lawmakers focus on making sure crucial human rights protections are coded in law before the end of the current EU mandate in 2024.”
Recently, France, Germany and Italy were also part of a new set of guidelines developed by 15 countries and major tech companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic, which suggest cybersecurity practices for AI developers when designing, developing, launching and monitoring AI models.
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The Dutch cryptocurrency exchange Bitvavo is slowly expanding its reach after gaining regulatory approval in Austria and France.
Netherlands-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitvavo is set to expand its services to French users after successfully registering as a digital asset service provider with France’s Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF).
The expansion into France comes just weeks after Bitvavo secured regulatory approval to offer its services in Austria. The exchange expanded its offering to Italy in 2022 and has filed registration applications for other major European markets.
“Securing registration with the French AMF marks a pivotal moment for us. We are excited about bringing our consumer-focused offering to the French market,” CEO Mark Nuvelstijn said in a statement.
The exchange also highlighted an interesting trend that underpins its efforts to expand into France. A recent AMF survey of French investors indicates that more of its citizens own cryptocurrencies (9%) than conventional stocks (7%) and bonds (2%).
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Bitvavo currently serves around 1.5 million customers across the Benelux region. In a recent one-on-one interview with Cointelegraph at the European Blockchain Convention in Barcelona, Nuvelstijn highlighted the exchange’s focus on slow, measured expansion into new markets.
“Focus is key. You can try to get all of Europe at once, but that will set yourself up for failure. I think it’s really important to focus step by step. Our core focus areas are where we have a lot of traction, where we see that we have a lot of clients who are interested in our services,” Nuvelstijn said.
Another consideration is the application of the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations, set to take effect through 2024 and onward. The Bitvavo CEO believes a synergized European crypto rulebook will force the market to mature.
“It will increase the bar of requirements, which is good for the sector because everybody needs to improve their business models. Secondly, it will open up the European market. So, you no longer need a license per country. The regulation will become more harmonized, due to which you can easily do cross-border business,” he explained.
French bank Société Générale grabbed headlines in July 2023 as it became the first mainstream financial firm in the country to obtain a license to offer cryptocurrency services in France. The likes of Bitstamp also secured regulatory approval to offer its services in the country in February 2023.
Meanwhile, Binance’s French arm continues to operate within the country despite reportedly being under preliminary investigation by local authorities for alleged Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering shortcomings.
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The survey was conducted at the request of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in the spring of 2023.
Cryptocurrencies are the second most popular type of asset for investments among the adult French population, according to a survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and published by France’s principal financial regulator, the Financial Markets Authority (AMF, on Nov. 13.
According to the survey, 9.4% of the French population holds crypto assets, which is only marginally lower than those holding the most popular type of investment asset, real estate funds (10.7%). A further 2.8% of respondents possess nonfungible tokens (NFTs).
The survey also measured the group of “new investors” — those who have invested for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. These are mainly men (64%) and significantly younger than traditional investors, with an average age of 36 against 51 for the latter. Among this category, 54% hold crypto assets.
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The survey’s authors also noted that new individual investors have a “relatively low level of financial knowledge,” particularly the youngest group, aged 18-24. They were more likely to give incorrect answers about the basics of investment strategy than “traditional investors.”
The survey was conducted in the spring of 2023, featuring 1,056 respondents and 40 in-depth interviews about their needs and motivations.
France is actively pursuing a leadership role in Europe in digital economy and innovations. In September, local telecommunications group Iliad revealed an investment of 100 million euros ($106 million) to fund the creation of an “excellence lab” dedicated to AI research in Paris. This month, the first-of-its-kind Institute of Crypto-Assets opened in the business district outside Paris.
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