France updates its crypto licensing regime to synchronize with MiCA

In France, amendments to the existing crypto regime will come into effect next year to align national regulations with the pan-European framework set by Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA).

The Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), France’s principal financial authority, announced the provisions of its General Regulation and its policy on digital asset service providers (DASPs) to take due to the “enhanced” registration. The press release was published on Aug. 10.

The “enhanced” registration requirements for crypto platforms, captured by a new Article 721-1-2 of the AMF General Regulation, will include systems for managing conflicts of interest, additional disclosure obligations, segregation of client assets and platform assets and prohibition to use client assets without their express prior consent.

The amendments will become obligatory starting Jan. 1, 2024, and must be taken into account in by applicants for enhanced DASP registration. However, DASPs that obtain a registration before Jan. 1, 2024, benefit from a “grandfather clause” and will be subject to the previous, simpler version of framework.

The first comprehensive crypto framework, MiCA was approved by the European Parliament in April 2023 and should come into force in three levels in 2024 and 2025. The legislation, which has taken years to finalize, raised some concerns among the crypto community. One of them is the 200-million euro ($219 million) cap on daily transactions for private stablecoins, such as Tether (USDT).

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