The country's financial watchdog has considered a “fast track” option for French licensed crypto firms to be regulated under the upcoming Market in Cryptoassets (MiCA) law.
In a statement released on April 21, the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) welcomed MiCA's approval and outlined how French regulation will proceed during the next 18-month transition period.
A focus of the AMF will be to guide French digital asset service providers (PSANs) towards MiCA regulation. The AMF said it was currently weighing "fast track" options for these companies so they could comply with MiCA regulations as quickly as possible.
In terms of MiCA compliance, the AMF is looking to fill gaps related to cryptocurrency firms' funding regulations, conflict of interest policies, and alignment of required documentation required by the AMF and MiCA regulations. To the general delight of the crypto industry, the European Parliament voted in favor of the MiCA regulatory package on April 20.
Looking ahead, MiCA now needs approval from the European Council in July before it can be formally adopted as regulation. Tentatively set to come into force in early 2025, the regulation aims to create a clear and consistent regulatory framework for crypto assets across s European Union ( EU) member states.
In France, crypto firms have two licensing options; a "simple" option that offers relaxed requirements, and a stricter "enhanced" option that is favored by the government and reportedly already tightly aligned with MiCA regulations. Tighter options have greater control over anti - money laundering rules, custody of client assets, reporting to regulators and providing detailed risk and conflict of interest disclosures as a means of enhancing consumer protection.
All 60 French crypto firms registered with the AMF are regulated under the light option and will remain so until they are ported to MiCA regulation. The AMF has previously stated that any crypto firm registered after January 2024 will have to register under the stricter option.
Notably, the AMF also outlines that any firms regulated under either category will only be able to provide services in France until they are ported to MiCA. "During this period, these players will be able to continue to provide their services exclusively to the French public ," the statement read, adding that "service providers approved under MiCA regulations will be able to benefit from the European passport and offer Serve."
