Crypto platforms that connect customers to decentralized finance could face liability for certain security failures under France’s proposed changes to MiCA crypto regulation. Published on October 21, 2026, the joint proposals would require platforms to check protocols before offering access and to keep monitoring them afterward, while seeking to balance innovation, investor protection and market stability.
Key takeaways
- Four French authorities have submitted joint proposals to revise MiCA.
- Platforms facilitating DeFi access would face security-check duties and conditional liability.
- France also supports EU-level supervision of significant crypto service providers.
French authorities coordinate on MiCA crypto regulation
The Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) is working with the French Ministry of Finance’s Treasury, Banque de France and the Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR) on changes to the European Union’s cryptocurrency framework. Their joint submission responds to a European Commission consultation reviewing MiCA.
The collaboration presents a unified French position on revising the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, a key law governing digital assets across the EU. The AMF’s responsibilities in France include protecting investors and overseeing market integrity.
The Commission’s review considers whether the framework needs updating as crypto markets develop, including how to address activities outside its original scope. MiCA currently excludes crypto services delivered in a fully decentralized way without intermediaries.
Security checks at the center of investor protection
France’s proposals seek to support innovation while strengthening investor protection and market stability. For regulated platforms offering DeFi access, that would mean checking protocol security before making services available and monitoring vulnerabilities and suspicious activity afterward.
The proposed checks cover smart-contract security and operational weaknesses. Authorities also support certification of protocols and smart contracts, but platforms could offer uncertified protocols after conducting their own due diligence and providing enhanced risk disclosures.
Liability would concern certain incidents involving customers whose access a platform actively facilitated, particularly when the provider failed to conduct adequate checks or exposed customers to known security risks. The proposal does not create automatic compensation for every DeFi exploit.
Significant crypto-asset service providers, or CASPs, would face the full requirements, while smaller providers would have proportionate obligations.
French authorities oppose blanket compulsory certification for self-custody wallet developers. Instead, they favor voluntary certification for more advanced wallets that integrate DeFi services and other financial functions.
Proposed changes extend to supervision and stablecoins
France’s proposed revisions to MiCA crypto regulation also cover who supervises major platforms and how stablecoin categories operate. Oversight of major CASPs would shift from national regulators to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), a change the authorities support.
They propose lowering the current significance threshold of 15 million average daily active users in the EU. Custody assets, business risks and group complexity would also help determine which platforms fall under ESMA supervision.
France also wants a review of the asset-referenced token category, which covers tokens seeking stable value through references to assets or combinations of assets. The authorities noted that no such tokens had received authorization under MiCA and proposed adapting the e-money token framework to cover multicurrency stablecoins.
These recommendations could influence future European crypto rules through the Commission’s review. Feedback gathered from the consultation will shape a report for EU lawmakers, required by June 30, 2027, that may propose legislative amendments.
Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.