In France, changes to existing crypto asset legislation will come into effect next year to align with the pan-European framework set out by the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA). The French Financial Regulator, Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), has announced the details of the legal framework and the upcoming process, which were made public today.
Mandatory from 2024
The Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), the main financial authority in France, has revealed its General Regulation provisions and its policy regarding digital asset service providers due to advanced record-keeping requirements. The press release was published on August 10.
The enhanced record-keeping requirements for crypto platforms captured by a new provision, 721-1-2, of the AMF General Regulation will include managing conflicts of interest, additional disclosure obligations, separation of customer assets and platform assets, and a prohibition on using customer assets without prior explicit consent.
The changes will become mandatory from January 1, 2024, and must be taken into account by applicants seeking advanced DASP registration. However, DASPs that have been registered before January 1, 2024, will benefit from a significant provision currently in effect and will be subject to the previous, simpler version of the legal framework.
Legal Framework Introduced by MiCA
MiCA, the first comprehensive legal crypto framework, was approved by the European Parliament in April 2023 and will come into effect in three stages in 2024 and 2025. The lengthy legislation process has raised concerns among the crypto community. One of them is the €200 million (€219 million) cap imposed on daily transactions for private stablecoins like Tether.
Following MiCA, a crypto asset regulation package established by the European Union, the Netherlands declared Binance‘s activities in the country illegal on June 16 and demanded the closure of the crypto exchange’s operations in the country. Following this development, Binance announced that it would establish an infrastructure compliant with MiCA. However, the Paris Prosecutor’s Office took action in France, stating that Binance’s activities in the country were illegal and accusing the exchange of money laundering.
