Key Takeaways
- This announcement follows the approval of the MiCA regulatory package by the European Parliament on April 20.
- MiCA regulation allows crypto firms to offer regulated services across the bloc and requires stablecoin issuers to hold sufficient reserves.
- The AMF stressed that only crypto firms who have been approved under the MiCA regulation will be able to benefit from the European passport and provide their services across all EU member countries.
France’s financial regulator, the Autorité des marchés Financiers (AMF), has announced that it is considering a “fast-track” system to help existing registered cryptocurrency companies to become compliant with the upcoming Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulations. This announcement came after the approval of the MiCA regulatory package by the European Parliament on April 20.
The AMF has stated that it will focus on guiding the transition of French digital asset service providers (PSANs) to MiCA regulation during the next 18 months. The regulator has also outlined two options for French crypto firms: a “simple” option offering relaxed requirements and a more stringent “enhanced” option favored by the government and closely aligned with MiCA regulations.
All 60 AMF-registered crypto firms in France are currently regulated under the relaxed option and will remain the same way until they are ported over to the new MiCA regulation. However, the AMF has stated that any crypto firm registering after January 2024 will have to do so under the more stringent option.
The AMF has also emphasized that companies regulated under either category will only be able to offer their services in France until they are ported over to MiCA. Once they have been approved under the MiCA regulation, they will be able to provide their services across all EU countries using the European passport.
The AMF stressed that only service providers who have been approved under the MiCA regulation would have the opportunity to benefit from the European passport and provide their services across all EU member countries.
The AMF has stated that it will consider a “fast-track modular licensing” between France’s existing PSAN regime and MiCA, which includes much tougher governance, consumer protection, and financial stability rule.
The latest development by France follows the European Union passing the final vote on MiCA.MiCA regulation allows crypto exchanges and digital-wallet companies to offer regulated services across the bloc and requires stablecoin issuers to hold sufficient reserves.
Under the new rules, companies operating in the crypto sector will be required to comply with rules covering “transparency, disclosure, authorization, and supervision of transactions.”
MiCA is expected to come into effect starting around July 2023 and aims to establish a clear and consistent regulatory framework for crypto assets among European Union (EU) member states.
