Côme Prost-Boucle, the France director of the cryptocurrency giant spoke to BFM Crypto and shares his vision on the future of the sector in our country.
One of the leaders in cryptocurrency exchange platforms, listed on the New York Stock Exchange (Nasdaq), has had the status of digital asset service provider (PSAN) with the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) since December 21, 2023. This allows it to offer French investors the opportunity to invest directly on their platform. Côme Prost-Boucle, general manager of Coinbase France, gives his view on the French market. He says he is rather “confident”.
BFM Crypto: Coinbase has established itself for several years as a key player in the cryptocurrency sector. With the evolution of the market, what is the platform's strategy today?
Como Prost-Boucle: We have two pillars at Coinbase. We offer the most regulated and simplest products in the sector. Coinbase's goal is to offer the best possible services anywhere in the world. To do this, we offer our services to individuals, but we also work with the biggest players in the sector (banks, asset managers, etc.) and we talk with everyone. There is a real renewed interest from institutions. We therefore try to work with as many players in the sector as possible to continue to develop the crypto market in France. We want to be a leader and we have many plans to get there.
Bitcoin broke its record on the night of November 5. Since then it has exceeded 75,000 dollars. Is this a “Trump effect” or is it part of a more global context?
I think this fits into a more global context. Obviously, the election of Donald Trump has something to do with it. Regulation will undoubtedly be less harsh. We had the launch of ETFs (An ETF is an investment fund traded on stock exchanges. A Bitcoin ETF is an ETF that tracks the value of Bitcoin. It allows people to invest in Bitcoin without owning the cryptocurrency itself -even). Coinbase also works with eight of the eleven ETFs open in the United States.
Many businesses and people view Bitcoin as a store of value. More and more players in the sector are also regulated, which eliminates poorly/poorly regulated players. In particular, I see MiCa (a European regulation which aims to regulate crypto-assets to further protect investors. It will be applicable from the end of the year – Editor's note) in a positive light. We can absolutely evolve within a regulated framework. Investors are also optimistic about this new regulation. This helps create trust with the regulator, then later with investors.
Have you seen any new entrants at Coinbase with the Bitcoin record? Since the beginning of the year? What is the typical profile of investors?
There has been a boom in investors since January. (The number of Coinbase users worldwide who transact each month is estimated to be around 8.2 million people). There are two types of investors. The general public and more experienced investors. Coinbase offers investment products with great simplicity for the general public. We have a real desire for education. This therefore involves learning (Coinbase offers lessons on its application to allow its customers to learn some information about cryptocurrencies. In exchange for its few lessons, Coinbase offers a reward in this crypto. Users of the platform have thus far been able to win Near, Zetachain, Algorand, Vara or even Ethernity Chain tokens). Our goal is to support the investor by the hand.
And for professionals?
For the more advanced, we have the Advanced trading platform. This allows you to understand the cryptocurrency market in more depth and learn how to use professional trading tools. Finally, with our Base platform, we are targeting more experienced investors, professional traders. However, we always focus on simplicity.
“I am quite optimistic for the future of cryptos in France”, Côme Prost-Boucle, boss of Coinbase France
How do you see the evolution of the crypto market in France?
I am quite optimistic for the future of cryptos in France. There is a real boost for French actors currently. As we can see, there is a resurgence of institutional projects, particularly with SG Forge for example. (Societe Generale – FORGE is starting to experiment with blockchain and cryptocurrencies). Quite a few asset managers are also starting to take an interest in it. There are many crypto and web3 projects, France is a good location for these projects, in particular thanks to the clarity of the regulation.
Bitcoin has seen its value increase by more than 70% since the start of the year. In the middle of the day of the American elections, it even exceeded the $75,000 mark for the first time. Friday, November 8 at 6 p.m., it was trading at $76,000.
