MiCA CASP Licence in France (AMF)

France is the large, strictly-enforced market. It built one of Europe's earliest crypto regimes — the PACTE-law PSAN/DASP framework — and has now folded it into MiCA, with the AMF as competent authority, coordinating with the ACPR on AML/CFT. A French CASP licence opens one of the EU's biggest domestic markets, but France has also been the loudest on enforcement.

On timing, France used the full 18-month transitional period, which ended 1 July 2026: firms that had provided crypto-asset services under the PACTE law before 30 December 2024 could continue until then, or until their MiCA application was granted or refused. As in Lithuania, Germany and Ireland — whose windows had closed at the end of 2025 — France's window has now closed too: new entrants apply directly to the AMF/ACPR for full CASP authorisation under MiCA, and the transitional route is no longer available.

France has put real teeth behind the deadline. Firms that fail to cease unlicensed activity face criminal liability — up to two years' imprisonment and a €30,000 fine — and the AMF has signalled active enforcement and blacklisting after the cut-off. A French CASP licence passports across the EU; minimum capital follows MiCA's Annex IV classes and the Article 67 own-funds floor — model it in the CASP Jurisdiction Selector & Cost Estimator.

Why operators choose France: a very large home market, an experienced regulator and a mature crypto-regime heritage. What to weigh: strict, criminally-backed enforcement and a transitional window that is effectively closed to latecomers — France suits firms already well advanced, not those just starting. Unsure whether MiCA applies to you? Begin with the MiCA Exposure Checker.