FTX's fall has not only prompted French authorities 🇫🇷 to get tough with crypto players (see the recent law speeding up the timeline on PSANs). Industry influencers are also being targeted. A proposed law to "fight against scams and abuses by influencers on social networks" will be examined in session at the National Assembly on March 27.

This proposal, which is rare enough to be highlighted, is the fruit of the transparent work of two deputies: Arthur Delaporte (PS) and Stéphane Vojetta (Renaissance). According to our information, this proposal has also received the support of the government.

While this has not yet been decided, influencers who are not registered with the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) could be prohibited from promoting crypto projects. Those who will be registered could only work with companies that have the right to communicate in France (via obtaining a PSAN registration with the AMF).

"The idea is not to ban talking about crypto-assets, but to stop undeclared promotions and associated abuses," explains Arthur Delaporte. "A large part of the influencer audience is made up of vulnerable or financially uneducated people and it's about protecting them," he says.

According to the text, an influencer is defined as "any natural or legal person, who, for a fee or in exchange for a benefit in kind, produces and disseminates by a means of electronic communication content that aims, through the expression of his personality, to promote goods, services, or any cause".

France is not the only country to be interested in the subject of influencers. In the United States, several stars like Kim Kardashian (1.2 million dollars fine) were recently sanctioned for promoting projects without notifying their audience.

In Europe, the MiCA regulation, which is due to be finally adopted in April (mandatory implementation by 2026), provides for the supervision of the activity of crypto influencers.

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