Crypto companies in France mandated to gain authorization by 2024 to prevent MiCA abuse

• France National Assembly on Tuesday accepted the amendment proposed by member, Daniel Labaronne, to push the cut-off date to January 1, 2024.
• The amendment was motivated by minimizing the risk that could occur by the rampant use of the grandfather clause under MiCA.
• The MiCA crypto bill is expected to be delayed until 2024 due to the postponement of the draft release to April 2023.

The rapid pace of crypto acceptance is allowing entities involved in the sector to be given a second chance, as is the case with France. The proposed Markets in Crypto Assets regulation (MiCA) in the European Union have faced concerns in France, resulting in an amendment being made.

France wants to give more time

As per an amendment proposed by Daniel Labaronne, representative of France Assembly’s Finance Committee, the crypto companies in the country are set to receive leeway for registering with the regulatory authorities. Earlier, the cut-off date for crypto firms to register with the Financial Markets Authority proposed by the Senate was October 2023. 

However, according to Labaronne, the cut-off date must be postponed to prevent the abuse of MiCA. As per crypto legislation, any company that registers under the MiCA would benefit from the grandfather clause, meaning such entities would not have to gain a full license until March 2026. 

Furthermore, to provide the Financial Markets Authority some time to process applications, Labaronne suggested the amendment saying,

“I propose to take the date of January 1, 2024, to let new entrants have a little more time to ask for their authorization, which is complicated.”

Following the adoption of Labaronne’s proposal by the Assembly’s Finance Committee, the proposal is now headed to the Assembly over the next week for approval and negotiations.

MiCA postponed to 2024

As per an insider close to the developments, the MiCA legislation may not take more time before it comes into effect following a technical delay. The crypto legislation has been tabled until April 2023, when the plenary voting will take place. 

This is because the draft law is required to be available in all 24 languages spoken in the European Union. Following the translation and plenary vote, technical specifications will be drafted over the next 12 or more months.

This may lead to the bill coming into effect by 2024, pushing the beginning of the licensing regime even further. 

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