Is Crypto Legal in France?

The AMF is the French competent authority for MiCA CASP authorisation, and France is the second-largest EU home of authorised CASPs (AMF, 6 July 2026). Circle Internet Financial Europe SAS is listed by ESMA as an AMF-authorised CASP from 23 April 2026 and, separately, as an ACPR-supervised e-money institution issuing the EURC and USDC e-money tokens since 1 July 2024.

The ACPR (Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution) is the French prudential and AML/CFT supervisor for banks and insurers, applying Monetary and Financial Code articles L. 561-2 ff. and R. 561-1 ff.; under the PACTE regime it gave its AML/CFT opinion on each PSAN before AMF registration.

The loi PACTE of 22 May 2019 created the French regime for initial coin offerings and digital-asset service providers (PSAN). The AMF states that this national regime is to disappear under MiCA, and the PSAN transitional period ended on 1 July 2026.

France applied the full 18-month MiCA transitional period: PSANs registered or licensed under French law could keep serving clients until 1 July 2026. Since 2 July 2026 only crypto-asset service providers (PSCA) authorised under MiCA may provide crypto-asset services in France; the AMF reported 31 French authorisations on 6 July 2026.

Custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients is a MiCA Class 2 service requiring minimum capital of €125,000 (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, Annex IV). In France the AMF authorises CASPs offering it; the ESMA interim register listed 36 AMF-authorised French entries on 14 October 2026.

Operating a trading platform for crypto-assets is a MiCA Class 3 service requiring minimum capital of €150,000 (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, Annex IV). In France it requires AMF authorisation as a PSCA, mandatory for all providers since the PSAN transition ended on 1 July 2026.

The AMF is the French competent authority that authorises and supervises crypto-asset service providers (PSCA) under MiCA, replacing the PSAN registration and licensing regime of the loi PACTE; it also oversees offers of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced and e-money tokens, whose issuers must be authorised by the ACPR.

The ACPR is the French authority for stablecoin issuers under MiCA: an e-money token issuer must be authorised as a credit institution or electronic money institution and notify the ACPR of its intention to issue and of its white paper. On 14 October 2026 the ESMA register listed 8 French EMT white papers from 6 ACPR-supervised issuers, including Circle Internet Financial Europe SAS, Société Générale – Forge and SALVUS (schuman.io).

Banque de France Governor Emmanuel Moulin told the ACPR-AMF Fintech Forum on 2 October 2026 that a targeted revision of MiCA could clarify the legal treatment of tokenised deposits and of stablecoins, including non-euro stablecoins used for everyday payments and multi-issuer models; this is a policy position, not a rule.

Tracfin, the French financial intelligence unit under the Ministry of the Economy, receives AML/CFT suspicious-transaction declarations; the ACPR and Tracfin have issued joint guidelines on vigilance obligations and on declarations and information to Tracfin.

The loi PACTE of 22 May 2019 introduced AMF registration of digital-asset service providers (PSAN) and an optional AMF visa for ICOs. PSANs held a simple registration, an enhanced ("renforcé") registration or an optional PSAN licence; holders of the enhanced registration or the licence could use a simplified MiCA authorisation procedure before the regime ended on 1 July 2026.

France has replaced the PSAN regime with MiCA authorisation: the AMF stated on 6 July 2026 that the transition from the loi PACTE regime ended on 2 July 2026, that France had authorised 31 crypto-asset service providers and that 283 were authorised across the EU. The ESMA interim register listed 36 AMF-authorised French entries on 14 October 2026.

The loi PACTE of 22 May 2019 created the French PSAN regime, which required at a minimum an AML/CFT framework; the ACPR gave its AML/CFT opinion on each digital-asset service provider before AMF registration because these providers present high money-laundering risks.

The ACPR lists Directive (EU) 2015/849 as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/843 (the fifth AML directive) among the EU AML/CFT texts in force in France, alongside Monetary and Financial Code articles L. 561-2 ff.; the AMLR (2024/1624) applies from 10 July 2027 and AMLD6 (2024/1640) must be transposed by that date.

MiCA sets CASP minimum capital at €50,000 (Class 1), €125,000 (Class 2, including custody and exchange) or €150,000 (Class 3, trading platforms) under Annex IV of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114. French PSANs had until 1 July 2026 to obtain AMF authorisation, and transfers of crypto-assets follow Regulation (EU) 2023/1113, which the ACPR lists as in force.

Under Regulation (EU) 2023/1113, which the ACPR lists among AML/CFT texts in force in France, a CASP handling a transfer exceeding €1,000 to or from a self-hosted address must verify whether that address is owned or controlled by its client; enhanced vigilance for politically exposed persons is covered by ACPR guidelines under Monetary and Financial Code articles L. 561-2 ff.

Since the PSAN regime ended on 1 July 2026, management and shareholder checks run through AMF authorisation under MiCA: the AMF must refuse a CASP whose management body members lack sufficiently good repute and competence (Art 68(1)) or whose qualifying shareholders are unsuitable (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, Art 63(10)). Under the former PSAN regime the ACPR gave an AML/CFT opinion before AMF registration.