
This episode of The New Money Podcast features Nicolas, CEO of Coinhouse, a French crypto broker offering regulated digital asset services for individuals and businesses. Nicolas retraces Coinhouse’s roots alongside Ledger and its evolution from a Paris storefront to a regulated brokerage that helped shape France’s PSAN regime, later informing MiCA. He lays out why the real value sits with client-facing brokers, not exchanges, and how Coinhouse is building toward a crypto-native bank serving premium clients. The conversation dives into Europe’s regulatory fragmentation under MiCA, why France’s early lead has faded, and why Nicolas believes the travel rule should be scrapped in favor of robust AML/CFT controls. It’s a candid look at building a compliant crypto business in Europe, the missing piece in institutional exchange infrastructure, and the road to tokenized finance at banking scale.
Key Chapters
00:00 From Ledger roots to Coinhouse spinout
03:39 The 2017 crypto market in Europe
06:53 Building a regulation‑first strategy
11:26 Why broker beats exchange for value
16:10 Serving premium high‑touch clients
17:16 The missing institutional‑grade exchange
20:41 France’s head start fades under MiCA
23:59 Best EU jurisdictions for crypto today
27:09 Why the travel rule should go
29:32 Quickfire Insights on Fintech and Crypto Trends
This is NOT financial, tax, or legal advice
Music by Marcelo Cataldo - http://www.marcelocataldo.com