For a few days, Paris becomes the world capital of cryptocurrencies.
Coincidentally, several blockchain players have come out of the woods with announcements, all of which testify to the maturity of this young industry. Ledger, manufacturer of cryptocurrency wallets, is joining forces with Franco-Chinese Cathay Capital to launch an “ecosystem fund”: with the support of Bpifrance, which will be the first subscriber, the two partners will inject 100 million euros into start-ups of “Web 3”, based on blockchain technology.
Broker of digital currencies, Coinhouse raises 40 million euros to accelerate its development. Finally, the young management company Arquant has just obtained its approval from the AMF: it will be the first in Europe to actively manage a fund invested in bitcoins and ethers.
Added to this is a symbolic announcement: from June 8, the Beaugrenelle Paris department store will allow you to pay for your shopping in cryptocurrencies. “With its engineers from the Grandes Ecoles, strong expertise in asset management, a good financial culture, the Parisian place combines the assets to become the European headquarters of cryptos”, judge Ivan de Lastours, block-chain and crypto pilot at Bpifrance.
The story of Ledger and Coinhouse is emblematic of this evolution. The two companies were born, in 2017, from the same entity, the Maison du bitcoin, founded in 2014 in Paris by Eric Larchevêque and Thomas France. This physical place animated by a community of enthusiasts was both a blockchain solution editor and a training space, to which was added the Ledger security solution.
“Financial Revolution”
The Coinhouse start-up now employs around a hundred people, symbolically, in the former Crédit Lyonnais headquarters building, right in the center of Paris. Profitable since October 2020, it has a turnover of around 15 million euros.
“The “tokenization” of finance is inevitable, it is a fundamental revolution in the financial world that is underway”, assures Nicolas Louvet, CEO of Coinhouse. Now positioned as a crypto investment advisor, she has kept her evangelizing spirit. “My objective is to convince Monsieur and Madame Tout-le-Monde to invest: 40 million people in France, 150 million in Europe,” announces his boss, a former venture capitalist. On the model of a classic asset manager, Coinhouse offers a free account and is remunerated by a commission on transactions, from 0.5% to 2.49%. It also helps large groups to accept crypto payment methods. An activity which already represents 5% of its turnover.
Marks in the metaverse
Another emanation of the House of Bitcoin, Ledger, has established itself as the world leader in Web 3 security. Its physical and digital wallets protect 15 to 20% of digital assets (cryptocurrencies, NFTs and tokens) in the world. The needs are huge. “The owner of a private crypto key (equivalent to the password of a digital safe) can be stolen in a jiffy”, underlines Pascal Gauthier, its CEO. The unicorn has just signed a partnership with Coinbase, the third largest crypto exchange in the world.
Born later, two other French companies have become world-class players. The Sorare unicorn dominates the world of digital sports tokens, with its Panini 2.0 cards. And the game The Sandbox, which has just raised $500 million, has created a metaverse that has become essential: 200 brands have rushed into its hybrid virtual world, between video game, social network and shopping center. Pulled by these four locomotives, an entire ecosystem emerges.
Some actors move at high speed, like Kaiko. Founded by Ambre Soubiran, a former HSBC banker, the start-up aims to become the “Bloomberg” of the sector: it wants to serve as a single source for market information. Another nugget, supported by the American fund Tiger, Arianee helps large groups to create “digital tokens” for all kinds of uses: loyalty, fight against counterfeiting, promotion…
The plunge in bitcoin (-50% in six months) has therefore not cooled a bubbling ecosystem. On April 13 and 14, more than 3,000 people rushed to Blockchain Week in Paris. Gone are the days when cryptos were reserved for geeks speaking mysterious jargon: the boundaries between specialized players and traditional industries are blurring. Long reluctant, finance is opening up a little, with the support of the public authorities. Payments specialist Lydia makes it possible to exchange cryptocurrencies thanks to a partnership with BitPanda. French venture capital – hitherto cautious – is also entering the dance: Alven has just announced a 350 million fund specializing in fintech and cryptocurrencies. Same tremor in asset management. “The demand from family offices and wealth managers is very strong,” says Eron Angjele, managing director of the young specialist management company Arquant.
Strategic experiences
And in recent months, interest in cryptocurrencies has expanded beyond finance, thanks to the metaverse and NFTs (unique digital tokens). “Whether in luxury, sport, automotive, fashion, leisure, there is no longer a boss who does not question his strategy in Web 3”, notes Pierre-Nicolas Hurstel, founder of Ariane. Examples abound: Samsung, Gucci, Carrefour, Adidas… have bought land on The Sand-box. However, these experiences lead companies to consider managing cryptocurrencies. “How to be sure of their origin? Manage accounting and financial reporting? When to convert them into euros? So many new subjects that treasurers must deal with”, explains Pierre-Nicolas Hurstel. His message: get ready, structure yourself. An announcement that went fairly unnoticed, the Arnault family will invest, via its Aglaé Ventures fund, in crypto projects. If even the godfather of French capitalism gets involved…
Paris shows the way to Europe
France had regulation before anyone else, enthuses David Princay, general manager of Binance France. It is ahead of other European countries, itself ahead of the rest of the world. This is why Binance chose Paris. From 2019 Bruno Le Maire had assured that he wanted to make France a “crypto nation”. The Pacte law then laid down a legal framework by creating the status of digital asset service provider (PSAN), since adopted by 37 establishments including, very recently, Binance.
“Founded by a Chinese entrepreneur, Binance first grew up in gray areas before asking for its approval, while the French players, who remained very small, played the game of regulation”, squeaks a specialist. If the French framework is however considered rather favorable by the actors of the blockchain, the European regulation, in the process of being finalized, worries them. The Mica directive (markets in crypto-assets) does indeed contain gray areas that could hinder operators. “One would have thought that Europe was going to embrace Web 3, but by regulating too strictly, it risks breaking the momentum”, laments Pascal Gauthier.