French financial authorities have raised concerns as a significant portion of crypto companies operating without an EU license have failed to communicate their plans ahead of a critical regulatory deadline. Stéphane Pontoizeau, Executive Director of the Market Intermediaries and Market Infrastructures Supervision Directorate at France's Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), revealed that about 30% of the 90 unlicensed crypto firms registered in France have not responded to the regulator's inquiries.
The AMF had written to these companies in November 2025, reminding them of the impending deadline of June 30, 2026. This date marks the end of the national transition period for compliance with the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). Firms that fail to obtain a MiCA license by this cutoff will be required to cease operations in July 2026.
According to the regulator's data, the response breakdown among the 90 firms is stark: only 30% have applied for a license, 40% have indicated they do not intend to apply, and the remaining 30% have applications in progress. The AMF did not disclose the names of the non-responsive or non-applying companies.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has mandated that companies without MiCA authorization must implement an "orderly wind-down plan" before the transition period concludes. This news highlights ongoing enforcement challenges for the MiCA framework across the EU.
In a parallel development, the European Commission proposed in December 2025 to transfer centralized crypto oversight from national regulators to ESMA, aiming to eliminate regulatory fragmentation across the 27 member states. This proposal, which would grant ESMA powers comparable to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has garnered support from French authorities like AMF President Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani, who advocates for a "more harmonized" approach. However, it faces opposition from some member states and industry concerns about potentially slowing licensing and hindering startup growth.
France has also emerged as a critic of the EU's "passporting" regime, threatening to block some firms licensed in other EU nations from operating domestically if they are perceived to have obtained licenses under more lenient standards. To date, MiCA licenses in France have been granted to firms including stablecoin issuer Circle, exchanges Coinbase, OKX, Crypto.com, Binance, fintech Revolut, investment firm CoinShares, and the Swiss Bitcoin app Relai.
