France proposes a supervised route for global stablecoins in MiCA review

France’s Treasury, AMF, Banque de France and ACPR have published joint proposals for MiCA’s revision, seeking continued access to global crypto liquidity alongside stronger European supervision. The 21 October announcement supports euro stablecoins and tokenised deposits while proposing tighter oversight of significant service providers and crypto conglomerates.[1]

The submission is a national policy position within the European Commission’s review. The targeted consultation closed on 30 September; its responses will inform a report that may lead to legislation. Publication of the French response therefore sets out a negotiating position without changing firms’ present authorisations or creating an implementation date.[3]

Reserve transfers sit at the centre of cross-border issuance

For fungible stablecoins issued inside and outside the EU, the detailed response proposes prior Commission recognition of equivalent safeguards and cooperation agreements between supervisors. Once admitted, the model would trigger significant-token treatment, EBA supervision of the European issuer, a jointly approved reserve-transfer mechanism and liquidity stress tests. Additional reserves could be required where those tests identify shortfalls.[2]

The proposed equivalence route would permit co-issuance with an EU-authorised issuer, rather than distribution of tokens issued exclusively offshore. Reciprocal access for European issuers would be a condition. This makes the reserve arrangement and supervisory cooperation central to the commercial ability to offer the same token across jurisdictions.[2]

The authorities also favour stronger ESMA oversight of major crypto service providers and crypto conglomerates. Their release seeks clearer boundaries between crypto, financial-instrument and payment regimes, including activities requiring overlapping permissions. Tokenisation would leave an instrument within the legal framework applicable to its underlying classification.[1]

For exchanges and custodians, the significant issue is where a future framework places responsibility across a group: token issuance, reserves and customer-facing services would remain distinct regulated functions. The next formal step belongs to the Commission’s review process, which has not committed to adopting the French package.[3]

Report an error or submit an update