French authorities, including the Treasury, the Financial Markets Authority, and the central bank, have proposed amendments to the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation. The initiative aims to hold crypto-asset service providers liable for specific incidents if they fail to properly vet decentralized finance protocols or ignore security risks.
Under the proposal, platforms would be required to monitor protocols for vulnerabilities and suspicious activity. While the rules would apply fully to significant providers, smaller entities would face scaled obligations. Platforms may still offer access to uncertified protocols, provided they conduct independent due diligence and issue enhanced risk disclosures.
The French response also suggests transferring the supervision of significant service providers from national regulators to the European Securities and Markets Authority. Authorities proposed lowering the current threshold of 15 million average daily active users for identifying significant providers and incorporating factors like custody assets and business risks into the classification.
Regarding non-custodial wallets, the proposal opposes mandatory certification for developers, favoring a voluntary approach for advanced wallets. Additionally, France called for a review of asset-referenced tokens, suggesting that the e-money token framework be adapted to better accommodate multicurrency stablecoins.
The European Commission is currently reviewing feedback from the consultation to determine if updates to the MiCA framework are necessary. A report for EU lawmakers is scheduled for submission by June 30, 2027, which may include formal legislative amendments.
