France regulator: one third of crypto firms lack Markets in Crypto-Assets plan

MiCA took full effect on 30 December 2024 and requires crypto-asset service providers to obtain authorization from a national competent authority in the member state where they are established, with a passporting regime allowing authorized firms to operate across the European Economic Area. Under transitional provisions, firms that were operating under national regimes can continue to serve clients while applying for a MiCA license for up to 18 months after the start date, or until authorization is granted or refused, whichever comes first. In practice, that transition period ends on 30 June 2026.

Stéphane Pontoizeau, executive director for supervision of market intermediaries and market infrastructures at the AMF, told journalists in Paris that around 90 registered digital-asset companies in France remain unlicensed under MiCA. He indicated roughly 30% have applied for authorization and about 40% do not intend to seek a license, leaving a remaining group that has not responded to the regulator’s outreach.

Reuters reported on 14 January 2026 that the AMF wrote to firms in November to remind them the French transition period ends on 30 June 2026, and that around 30% did not reply or provide a plan. The European Securities and Markets Authority said in December it expects firms without MiCA authorization to have orderly wind-down plans implemented or ready by the end of the transition period.

The French update comes as EU regulators and lawmakers debate whether MiCA is being implemented consistently across member states. Malta’s regulator drew scrutiny in mid-2025 over the speed of its approvals, and an ESMA peer review published on 10 July concluded the Maltese authorization process should have been more thorough. ESMA Chair Verena Ross told the Financial Times in October that the European Commission was developing plans that could shift supervision of sectors including digital assets from national regulators to ESMA, though licensing authority currently remains with national supervisors.

As GNcrypto reported previously, KuCoin EU obtained a Markets in Crypto-Assets license from the Austrian Financial Market Authority on 28 November 2025, allowing it to passport regulated crypto-asset services across 29 European Economic Area countries once operational, while Malta was excluded from the approved scope. The firm began the process with an application filed in February 2025, and the Austrian regulator has also issued MiCA authorizations to other crypto-asset service providers including Amina Bank, Bitpanda, Bybit, Cryptonow and FIOR Digital, highlighting how a limited number of large exchanges had completed licensing by late 2025.