France's Financial Markets Authority Sets June 20 Deadline for Crypto Firms to Acquire MiCA Licence

The Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) has given a warning that crypto companies operating in the country without a Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) license have a deadline of June 30 to acquire the required permits or wind up their operations in the country. In a press event, AMF President Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani also emphasised this deadline and clearly stated that the defaulters will have to “orderly wind-down plans' to offload customers and shut down operations. Under the European Union's (EU) MiCA regulations, a crypto service provider can acquire a license in any of the 27 EU member states and ‘passport' the license to any of the other member nations. 

EU Debate Over 'Passporting' and Regulatory Control Intensifies

As per the report by Reuters, the MiCA deadline is approaching sooner rather than later, and tensions have started to arise between EU member states about licensing requirements and questions about whether the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) should have centralised control over crypto regulations of the EU. ESMA is a Paris-based organisation that holds the power in creating a conflict of interest over crypto regulations in the EU, as giving control to a centralised agency will take away regulatory control from nation-states, thereby creating a potential threat of "passporting" licences across the EU region. 

Addressing the Paris Blockchain Week (PBW) 2026, Peter Kerstens, adviser on technological innovation, digital transformation, and cybersecurity at the European Commission's financial services department, said the Commission will review MiCA and launch a public consultation to see if the rules are working for market participants and helping business development.

In September 2025, France had already initiated this bold stance on cryptocurrency regulations, as the country warned that it could block companies licensed in other EU nations from operations. The French regulators had posed this argument at the time that the “passporting” system risks would create loopholes as firms gravitate towards jurisdictions with weaker supervisory standards. Barbat-Layani had said that some companies are engaging in “regulatory shopping” by seeking licences in jurisdictions with looser standards. 

As firms race to secure licences or prepare wind-down plans, the coming months could offer greater clarity on how the passporting system functions in practice and how regulatory responsibilities are balanced between national authorities and EU-wide institutions. The outcome may also shape future discussions about supervision, market access, and compliance standards across the European crypto sector.