Circle, a cryptocurrency-focused financial services provider, has obtained a conditional registration from the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR) and Banque de France regulator, allowing them to operate within the European Union country.
To fulfill its ambitions in the French market, Circle also named Spanish entrepreneur Andrea Ibarra Ocón as operations leader for France.
The conditional registration gives Circle authorization to operate its various services within the country, and the company’s buy, sell, and store platform, Circle Invest, is set to go live in France in early 2020.
Circle’s CEO, Jeremy Allaire, also revealed that the firm has plans of launching “additional euro-based services and capabilities, such as euro-backed stablecoin and euro payments APIs” in the French market in the near future.
The move, according to Allaire, will provide French customers with greater access to financial services and products, and “support new, innovative models of financial inclusion enabled by cryptocurrency and digital assets.”
Ibarra Ocón, now based in Paris, has experience working for global payment giants including Visa, PayPal, Payoneer, and, most recently, TransferWise, where she lead M&A activity throughout EMEA. At Circle, she will focus on establishing the company’s market presence in France, as well as on building strategic relationships with local financial institutions and regulator ACPR.
Ibarra Ocón expressed her excitement over the potential which Circle has to offer European customers, stating that the company is “shaped by innovation, security and transparency, offering its clients powerful, simple and secure products.”
