It was announced last month that the company had been approved by the French government to register as a provider of digital assets. Binance isn’t the only crypto company that has been seduced by France’s pro-business climate: Crypto.com today announced that it will have its regional headquarters in Paris.
The Singapore-based crypto exchange stated Wednesday that it had invested EUR150 million (145.3 million) in France.
The money will be used to establish its European headquarters in the capital, and to hire local talent in compliance, product development, and business development. Last month, Crypto.com was approved by France’s market authority AMF . It is now registered as a provider of digital asset services.
Eric Anziani, Crypto.com’s COO, stated that the company is looking forward to “continuing engagement with stakeholders across sectors to facilitate the development of the digital economy in France and provide customers a best-in-class cryptocurrency experience.”
According to company figures, Crypto.com products are used by more than 50 million people. It offers an exchange as well as a Visa debit card, and its own token Cronos.
Crypto.com, like rival crypto exchange FTX has made big bets on sports marketing. It announced that it would sponsor the FIFA World Cup next month. Last year, it signed a $100 million deal with Formula 1 racing. Crypto.com also has marketing agreements with Ultimate Fighting Championship and NBA Philadelphia 76ers.
However, the company’s marketing campaign, which included a series of highly publicized commercials featuring Matt Damon (Hollywood actor) has probably worked against them. The company has had at least two significant staff cuts this year.
It cut 5% of its workforce in June. Then, two months later, a variety of sources told decrypt that it was planning to reduce even more staff, citing the bear market. The company appears to be poised for aggressive expansion into Europe.
Crypto.com has established a Paris headquarters following the lead of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. Binance was the first major cryptocurrency exchange to become a licensed digital asset service provider in France.
France became the first European country to permit Binance to operate within its borders.
Binance chose France for its pro-business stance. CEO Changpeng Zhao praised France’s “procrypto regulations” back in April. He said that the country was “very uniquely placed to be the leader in this industry in Europe.”
Zhao stated that Zhao believed Chinese officials were extremely knowledgeable about crypto. After a French finance ministry official stated that France was supporting the growth of the cryptocurrency industry, Zhao made these comments.
Last year, France’s central bank tried crypto in a series of government bond deals as part of a large digital asset experiment.
