France crypto license 2026 — AMF CASP authorisation
France built the PSAN regime under the 2019 PACTE law, before MiCA existed. MiCA has replaced it: the AMF authorises CASPs and the ACPR supervises AML/CFT. The transitional period ended on 1 July 2026, and providing crypto-asset services without authorisation is a criminal offence.
Last reviewed by the Crypto Law Index editorial desk
France was early — and now has to converge
France did not wait for MiCA. The 2019 PACTE law created the PSAN regime — Prestataire de Services sur Actifs Numériques — an early dedicated national crypto framework in the EU. In 2024 the enhanced registration, introduced by the DDADUE law, became mandatory for new entrants, moving the regime closer to MiCA.
MiCA changed the picture. As an EU regulation it superseded the PSAN regime as a standalone national framework. The AMF now authorises and supervises CASPs, and the ACPR supervises their AML/CFT arrangements. Existing PSANs had to converge onto the MiCA regime, and the tier they held drove how much ground they had to cover.
The deadline, the simplified route, and what it still required
France used the full 18-month transitional window under MiCA. The transitional period that let existing French PSANs keep providing crypto-asset services without a MiCA authorisation closed on 1 July 2026. In February 2026 the AMF reminded providers that continuing without authorisation would expose them to two years' imprisonment and a €30,000 fine (CMF L. 54-10-4 and L. 572-23). The deadline was for being authorised, not for having filed.
The AMF did not make every PSAN start from zero. In 2023 it aligned the requirements for the agrément and the enhanced registration with MiCA so that a simplified procedure towards CASP authorisation could be used. Advisers report around three to five months end-to-end on that route (practitioner estimate). Simple-registration PSANs had more to build: MiCA-standard governance, prudential capital evidence, ICT-resilience documentation and complaints handling. The simplified route reused prior content; it did not waive the substance.
Choosing France as a CASP home
France is a large CASP jurisdiction with an established regulator and an early crypto history. For a former PSAN, staying in France was usually the obvious path, since the firm already had French substance, counsel relationships and prior AMF engagement. For a firm with no French footprint, France as a fresh CASP home is a different calculation, weighed against the other EU jurisdictions.
The diagnostic for counsel: ask how they have handled AMF information requests on recent CASP files, and how they prepare the AML/CFT sections the ACPR reviews. Counsel that cannot describe both sides of the review has not worked through a French file recently. The firms in our index with relevant French and multi-jurisdiction experience are listed below.
France AMF CASP authorisation is the licence the Autorité des marchés financiers grants under MiCA Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 to provide crypto-asset services in France and across the EU, replacing the prior French PSAN regime created by the 2019 PACTE law, with a transitional window for existing PSANs that closed on 1 July 2026.
Fast facts
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Regulator | AMF (CASP authorisation); ACPR (AML/CFT supervision; Article 60 notifications go through the ACPR portal) |
| Prior regime | PSAN — Prestataire de Services sur Actifs Numériques, created by the 2019 PACTE law, with three tiers: simple registration, enhanced registration (mandatory for new entrants from 1 January 2024) and an optional agrément |
| Transitional deadline | Ended on 1 July 2026 — France used the full 18-month transitional window under MiCA |
| After the deadline | Only MiCA-authorised CASPs may provide crypto-asset services in France; providing them without authorisation carries two years' imprisonment and a €30,000 fine (CMF L. 54-10-4 and L. 572-23, per the AMF) |
| Simplified route (agréé or enhanced-registered PSANs) | The AMF aligned the agrément and enhanced-registration requirements with MiCA to allow a simplified procedure towards CASP authorisation; practitioner-reported ~3-5 months end-to-end |
| Simple-registration PSANs | Full CASP application; the AMF's simplified route was framed around agréé and enhanced-registered PSANs |
| Capital tiers | €50,000 (Class 1) / €125,000 (Class 2) / €150,000 (Class 3), MiCA Annex IV |
Top counsel for France CASP work
Firms below are ranked according to the published CLPAI methodology. Featured selections cover firms with documented France engagement, regardless of where they are headquartered.
Frequently asked questions about France CASP authorisation
What was the French PSAN regime?
PSAN — Prestataire de Services sur Actifs Numériques — was France's domestic crypto regime under the 2019 PACTE law. It had three tiers: a simple registration, an enhanced registration that became mandatory for new entrants from 1 January 2024, and an optional agrément. The AMF registered and licensed PSANs; the ACPR was competent for AML/CFT.
When did French PSANs have to move to a MiCA CASP authorisation?
The deadline was 1 July 2026, the end of the full 18-month transitional window France used. Since that date only MiCA-authorised CASPs may provide crypto-asset services in France.
Was there a fast-track for existing French PSANs?
For agréé PSANs, and in part for enhanced-registered ones. In 2023 the AMF aligned the agrément and enhanced-registration requirements with MiCA so that a simplified procedure towards CASP authorisation could be used. Simple-registration PSANs had more to build and filed a full application.
What happens if a firm operates in France after 1 July 2026 without a CASP authorisation?
It commits a criminal offence. The AMF has said that unauthorised providers face two years' imprisonment and a €30,000 fine under articles L. 54-10-4 and L. 572-23 of the Code monétaire et financier, and that it may publish a list of unauthorised providers.
Pitfalls and nuances in France
1 Assuming a PSAN registration carries over automatically
It does not. A PSAN registration or agrément does not convert into a MiCA CASP authorisation on its own. The firm must file a CASP application with the AMF. The simplified route reused prior content; it did not remove the application.
2 Treating the end of the transitional period as soft
It was a hard cut-off. The AMF said unauthorised providers had to cease activity in France from 1 July 2026 until authorised, and asked PSANs that could not continue to start an orderly wind-down by 30 March 2026. Continuing to operate exposes a firm to criminal penalties, not just supervisory action.
3 Underestimating the gap between simple registration and MiCA
Simple PSAN registration was the lightest tier. A simple registrant had more ground to cover to reach MiCA standard — governance, prudential capital, ICT resilience, complaints handling — than an agréé or enhanced-registered PSAN.
4 Relying on an application instead of a decision
The transitional period ran until 1 July 2026, or until a firm's application was decided if that came first. Since then a filed but undecided application gives no right to serve French clients.
Practitioners in France
Named lawyers from the Crypto Law Index practitioners directory whose jurisdictional coverage includes France. Editorial picks, sourced from public records.
Regulator and primary sources
The supervisor of CASP authorisations in France is Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) + Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR). The legal basis is MiCA Regulation (EU) 2023/1114; transitional period under Loi n° 2023-171, art. 8 (PSAN regime from the 2019 PACTE law, ended on 1 July 2026). Visit www.amf-france.org/en/news-publications/news/mica-regulation-amf-now-accepting-applications-authorisation-casp for the regulator's official guidance, application forms, and supervisory expectations.
For where every EU and EEA state stands — its authority, its national act and when its transitional period ended — see the MiCA implementation tracker.