Remote VASP serving residents in France
Foreign-incorporated entity that offers exchange, custody, or transfer services to residents of a jurisdiction without establishing a local entity or office.
Remote VASP is conditionally permitted in France with a local entity, subject to AML obligations and high licensing burden.
Verdict Details
- Permitted
- conditional
- Local entity required
- Yes
- Licensing burden
- High
- Last updated
- 2026-07-13
AML Obligations
- CASP authorization (MiCA CASP license via AMF) required — minimum capital ranging from €50,000 (custody) to €150,000 (exchange/trading platforms)
- KYC obligations: collect, verify, and store identity documents (two forms of ID); ongoing transaction monitoring
- Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) required for PEPs, transactions over €1,000 to self-hosted wallets, and high-risk cross-border activities
- KYB for corporate clients (beneficial ownership verification)
- FATF Travel Rule compliance — threshold: EUR 0 (no de minimis threshold under TFR recast)
- Suspicious transaction reporting to TRACFIN
- AML/CFT policies, CDD, and registration required since 5AMLD implementation (January 2020)
- DAC8 reporting obligations effective January 1, 2026 — mandatory reporting of user crypto transactions to tax authorities
- Managers and beneficial owners verified during AMF registration process
- Supervised jointly by AMF (conduct/registration) and ACPR (prudential/AML)
Key Restrictions
- Non-resident provider cannot serve French residents from abroad without a CASP license — local incorporation in France is effectively required
- Must transition from legacy DASP registration to full MiCA CASP authorization (transition deadline for PSANs was June 30, 2025)
- Minimum capital requirements: €50,000 (custody), €150,000 (exchange/trading platforms), €125,000–€350,000 range per MiCA for CASPs generally
- Geofencing to block French residents while unlicensed is the only way to avoid triggering French regulatory obligations
Key Risks
- High enforcement risk for unlicensed remote operators — AMF/ACPR have active enforcement powers and a track record of sanctions against unauthorized crypto service providers
- France's mature crypto framework and active supervision means unlicensed cross-border servicing is likely detected (e.g., via user complaints, bank referrals, TRACFIN intelligence)
- Tax reporting obligations (DAC8 from 2026) create additional compliance burden for licensed operators
- Short transition window for legacy DASPs to MiCA CASP creates risk of gap in authorization
- AMF has publicly targeted unregistered foreign crypto platforms — Binance pre-2023 is a real-world example of France requiring local licensing
Evidence
This verdict synthesizes the following facts. Each fact links to its primary source(s).
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
Collect, verify, and store identity documents (e.g., two forms of ID); use third parties permitted.
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.
Ongoing transaction monitoring, KYB for corporate clients (beneficial ownership), and ML/FT risk assessment systems.
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.
France applies the EU Transfer of Funds Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 from 30 December 2024, which the ACPR lists among the AML/CFT texts in force; transfers of crypto-assets must carry originator and beneficiary information regardless of amount, with no minimum threshold.
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.
France's transposition of DAC8 (Council Directive (EU) 2023/2226), including the instrument, its date and the reporting duties of crypto-asset service providers, has no French primary source reachable on 14 October 2026.
AML/CFT for CASPs (since December 30, 2024): Mandates KYC, transaction monitoring, and sanctions compliance.
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.
Verdict Attribution
- Source:
- AI-Generated · Unreviewed
- AI synthesized:
- 2026-07-13 (deepseek-chat)
- Last updated:
- 2026-07-13
- Confidence:
- high
This verdict was produced by an AI model from the underlying facts. Confirm with counsel before relying on it for material decisions.
Conditional — a remote VASP serving French residents must obtain a MiCA CASP license (via AMF) with local incorporation, meet minimum capital requirements (€50K–€150K+), and comply with full AML/CFT obligations including EUR 0-threshold Travel Rule; serving French residents without authorization carries high enforcement risk given France's mature and actively enforced regulatory framework.
Questions this verdict aims to answer
- May a non-resident provider serve residents from abroad?
- Does cross-border service trigger licensing, registration, or AML obligations?
- What enforcement risk exists for unlicensed remote operators?