Time’s Running Out for French Crypto Registration Regime, Regulator Says

Crypto companies operating in France were urged to prepare for tough European Union standards by a senior official from the country's Financial Markets Authority (AMF) on Wednesday.

AMF Secretary-General Benoît de Juvigny confirmed the country would be winding down its lighter national registration regime for crypto service providers.

France has sought to set itself apart as a crypto hub, and companies such as Crypto.com and Binance have already registered under its legal regime.

As of 2024, that system will be replaced by the EU Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework – which goes much further than the anti-money laundering checks currently carried out by France to include guarantees intended to ensure investor protection, market integrity and financial stability.

“The time for registering under the French regime … will soon come to an end,” Juvigny told a Fintech event in Paris hosted by the AMF and France's central bank. “I invite stakeholders to look, as of now, for the level of obligations which will soon be compulsory under MiCA.”

Juvigny also welcomed new EU rules intended to allow financial-market traders to test out systems based on distributed ledger technology (DLT) as of next year – and confirmed that France will take part in the trials. He said the AMF has already picked favorites to run pilots.

“We have already identified potential candidates,” he said, adding that any other volunteers should make contact. “The AMF will have the interests of participants in this regime at heart.”

French banks like Societe Generale have been keen proponents of the benefits of putting securities on the blockchain. Its subsidiary Forge recently registered with the AMF.

Juvigny will soon be working alongside former bank lobbyist Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani, confirmed by lawmakers to chair the AMF more or less while Juvigny was speaking.

Read more: Bye-bye Brokers: EU Tries Stock Trading, the Web3 Way

Amitoj Singh contributed reporting.