Country Manual Cryptos Overview
France – Update 2024
BRP has updated its Country Manual Cryptos Overview for France
| Source of changes | Answers |
|---|---|
| Law / Regulation | Yes |
| New Position of the Authorities | Yes |
| Evolution of Expert’s Interpretation | No |
Definitions & Concepts, Regulatory Summary and Behaviour Template
The Cryptos Overview has been reviewed to ensure that the content of all the documents remains accurate and up to date.
Regulatory changes
The Regulation on Crypto Asset Markets (MiCA) entered into force on 29 June 2023, and the provisions on the issuance, public offering and admission to trading of stablecoins is applicable as of 30 June 2024. The remaining provisions on crypto services will be fully applicable from 30 December 2024.
With the introduction of the European regulation, which is directly applicable in the member states, there is uniformity in the rules regarding payment tokens and utility tokens. Excluded from the scope of application, however, are security tokens, which remain regulated in the rules on financial products (MiFID II).
In addition, according to Art. 59 MiCA, no person will be permitted to provide crypto-asset-related services within the EU unless it is a legal person or other undertaking authorised as a CASP by the competent authority of the home Member State. Consequently, only authorised CASPs may provide crypto-asset services in or into the EU.
The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) had previously announced that it would be possible to “pre-file” applications for authorisation as a CASP in France from 1 July 2024, pending the actual legislative updates. This has now been addressed with the publication of two ordinances (Ordinance 2024-936 of 15 October 2024 and Ordinance 2024-937 of 15 October 2024) which form the cornerstone of the transition to a new harmonised framework for crypto-assets. With these ordinances, the French government is aligning national law with the MiCA regulation, while at the same time adapting to the TFR regulation on anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CTF).
Material changes
With the introduction of MiCA, payment tokens and utility tokens are subject to the same rules. The Behaviour Template (BT) has been updated accordingly. We would like to take this opportunity to remind you that these provisions will apply from 30 December 2024.
ESMA has already issued position statements on MiCA, in particular in relation to “reverse solicitation”. These considerations have been analysed and incorporated into the updated documents.
Non-material changes
Some comments and content have been slightly reworded in the Cryptos Overview, without introducing substantive changes to reflect the regulatory situation/current interpretation of the regulatory framework more accurately.
For more information, please contact us: info@brpsa.com
Geneva, November 11th, 2024