France's AMF regulator sets June 30 deadline for MiCA licensing
France’s AMF says crypto firms must secure MiCA licenses by June 30 or wind down and leave the country.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
France is pushing crypto companies to comply with the EU’s MiCA framework quickly, while broader tensions continue over how much control should sit with national regulators versus ESMA.
France’s market watchdog is telling crypto companies they need the right permission slip by June 30. If they do not get it, they have to stop doing business there and carefully close things down.
It is a bit like a school requiring every club to have an official pass before using the gym. One pass can work in many places across the EU, but the rules for who gives that pass are still being argued about.
That matters because it can decide which crypto firms stay open in France and how easy it will be to work across Europe in the future.
Analysis
France tightens the clock
The French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) warned that crypto companies operating in France without a license have until June 30 to obtain one or leave the market. AMF President Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani said firms that miss the deadline must have “orderly wind-down plans” to transfer customers and shut down operations, according to Reuters.
Under the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets framework, service providers need authorization to operate, but they can secure a license in one of the 27 member states and then use that approval across the bloc through passporting. That model is central to MiCA’s rollout, because it is meant to make cross-border operation easier once a firm is licensed in one jurisdiction.
Bigger dispute over who should control MiCA
The article says the deadline lands amid growing tension among EU member states over how licensing should work and whether oversight should be centralized under the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). Critics argue that moving control to ESMA, a Paris-based body, could create conflicts and weaken national authority over crypto regulation.
A spokesperson for Malta’s Financial Services Authority told Cointelegraph that changing the MiCA setup is “premature,” saying regulators should first assess the impact of the framework, which became legally applicable in 2024. The story also notes that Peter Kerstens, an adviser at the European Commission’s financial services department, said in April 2026 that MiCA could be overhauled as the crypto industry matures, with public consultation possible for any major changes.
The immediate issue for firms is practical: comply fast, or prepare to unwind their French business. The longer-term issue is whether MiCA remains a shared EU system with passporting, or becomes more centralized and more tightly controlled.
Key points
- France’s AMF says crypto firms without MiCA licenses must get approved by June 30 or leave the country.
- Noncompliant firms are expected to prepare orderly wind-down plans to offload customers and shut down operations.
- MiCA allows a license in one EU member state to be passported across the bloc.
- EU regulators are debating whether MiCA oversight should be centralized under ESMA.
- Malta’s regulator said changing the framework now would be premature.
