France is considering contesting the operational rights within its borders of some cryptocurrency businesses that have secured licenses in other European Union nations. This move, first reported by Reuters on September 15th, amplifies the call for a more unified regulatory approach to the digital asset sector across the EU.
Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani, who heads France’s Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), expressed growing concern that the EU’s novel Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations are being exploited. Her fear is that companies are deliberately seeking out countries with less stringent requirements to more easily access the entire 27-member EU market.
MiCA, which recently took effect, enables crypto firms to obtain a single license in one EU member state and then utilize it as a “passport” to conduct business throughout the entire bloc. While designed to standardize regulation, the system has already revealed substantial inconsistencies in how different national regulatory bodies are interpreting the rules.
Push for EU-level supervision
France, along with Italy and Austria, has formally requested that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) directly oversee significant cryptocurrency enterprises, according to a policy document reviewed by Reuters.
These national regulators caution that differing national implementations of MiCA could jeopardize investor safeguards and potentially destabilize financial markets. Barbat-Layani stated that France is willing to take a firm stance, even what she termed an “atomic weapon,” by potentially refusing to recognize licenses approved in other EU countries.
She elaborated:
“This is a legally intricate matter and could send the wrong message about the single market… but it remains a possible course of action we are prepared to consider.”
The AMF did not specify particular companies, although Coinbase is known to have acquired a MiCA license in Luxembourg, and Gemini secured one in Malta during the transitional period.
National differences under scrutiny
ESMA, which has previously advised lawmakers to explore the possibility of EU-wide supervision, affirmed that it continues its efforts to ensure uniform licensing practices across all member countries.
Malta, an early adopter of regulations governing digital assets, received criticism from ESMA earlier in the year due to perceived weaknesses in its crypto licensing procedures.
France, Italy, and Austria have also collectively urged lawmakers to strengthen MiCA rules by including stricter oversight of companies’ activities conducted outside the EU, heightened cybersecurity requirements, and more precise guidelines for the issuance of new tokens.
This initiative is encountering opposition from some EU member states that prefer to maintain national control over crypto regulation. However, ESMA’s chair, Verena Ross, has expressed openness to an expansion of her agency’s authority in this area.
The stakes involve the oversight of a rapidly growing, multi-trillion-dollar industry that regulators are concerned could pose a threat to the stability of financial markets if subjected to inconsistent and inadequate supervision.