Crypto business in France is entering a stricter phase after the local regulator warned unlicensed firms to finish MiCA applications.
France‘s top markets regulator warned crypto firms they could be blacklisted and prosecuted if they keep serving EU customers without a license after the bloc’s new crypto rulebook fully takes effect.
Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani, president of the Autorité des marchés financiers, the French markets regulator known as the AMF, told journalists on Thursday that firms must finish license applications before the June 30 deadline under the EU’s MiCA regulation, Reuters reports.
MiCA lets crypto firms apply for authorization in one EU country and then use that license as a passport to operate across the 27-country bloc.
Read also: “Wrench Attacks” in France: 88 People Charged in Kidnappings of Crypto Investors
Firms without authorization have already been told by European regulators to prepare “orderly wind-down plans,” though it remains unclear whether any large exchanges will be forced to stop serving EU customers.
Barbat-Layani said companies that miss the deadline will be put on blacklists and face enforcement action, including prosecution.
France is Changing its Tone
The latest development follows a number of attempts by France to position Paris as a European center for cryptocurrency companies.
In 2022, Binance registered with the AMF as it tried to establish itself in Paris as the European center. The exchange eventually ended up establishing Greece as its MiCA regulatory center in Europe, while it continued expanding in the UAE via Dubai and Abu Dhabi licenses.
During the same year, the AMF added Bybit to its blacklist due to failing to register in accordance with French requirements. The exchange would end up quitting the French market to be delisted from the blacklist in 2025 after over two years of compliance activities.
The new deadline on MiCA means that this previous split will now become an EU-wide challenge. France is not only requiring crypto companies to get their registration in the country but warning those without a full EU license to cease operations as they will be charged.
Read more: “We Need This”: France Shifts Its Approach to Stablecoins and Tokenized Deposits
