CASP authorisation in France under MiCA — AMF and ACPR split
CASP authorisation in France under MiCA runs through two authorities at once: the AMF on the conduct side and the ACPR on the prudential side. The substantive framework is the directly-applicable MiCA Regulation — Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 — overlaid by Code monétaire et financier amendments that designate the competent authorities and manage the transition from the prior PSAN registration regime. That two-authority architecture, plus the French-language requirement and the PSAN migration mechanics, is what makes the French track different from a single-regulator member state. This piece walks through who grants what, what the dossier needs, the capital arithmetic, and what switches on at grant.
1. Legal basis
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA) — directly applicable; Title V governs crypto-asset service providers
- Code monétaire et financier (CMF) amendments designating the AMF and ACPR as competent authorities and setting the national transitional rules
- The prior PSAN (Prestataire de Services sur Actifs Numériques) registration regime — the pre-MiCA French scheme, now relevant only through its transitional provisions
- AMF Règlement Général and AMF doctrine on crypto-asset services
2. Who grants what
| Activity | Competent authority |
|---|---|
| CASP authorisation under Article 59 MiCA | AMF (conduct) and ACPR (prudential) — one joint dossier |
| Asset-Referenced Token (ART) issuer authorisation | ACPR |
| Electronic-Money Token (EMT) issuance | ACPR — issuer must be a credit institution or an e-money institution |
| Legacy PSAN registration | AMF, with ACPR consultation |
| AML intelligence and SAR filing | TRACFIN |
3. The MiCA services catalogue
MiCA lists ten crypto-asset services a CASP can be authorised for: custody and administration; operation of a trading platform; exchange of crypto-assets for funds; exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets; execution of orders; placing; reception and transmission of orders; advice; portfolio management; and transfer services. The selection you make drives everything downstream — capital class, custody annexes, market-abuse surveillance obligations and conduct rules. Over-selecting “just in case” is a classic mistake: every ticked service must be fully documented in the file.
4. Capital and prudential requirements
Article 67 MiCA sets minimum capital by class of service:
- €50,000 — the lightest class: reception and transmission, advice, placing, transfer services
- €125,000 — exchange, execution, custody, portfolio management
- €150,000 — operating a trading platform
Ongoing own funds must be the higher of the applicable floor and one quarter of the previous year’s fixed overheads. The ACPR scrutinises both the classification and the overheads calculation.
Facts: a French start-up wants to offer exchange of crypto-assets for funds plus custody, with projected fixed overheads of €1.2 million in year one.
What the rule says: both services sit in the €125,000 class, so the floor is €125,000 — but a quarter of €1.2 million is €300,000, which is higher and therefore becomes the requirement.
What the practitioner does: capitalises against the overheads-based figure, not the headline floor, and shows the quarterly own-funds projection in the business plan. Filing with only the floor invites an immediate prudential objection from the ACPR.
5. What goes in the dossier
The file structure will feel familiar to anyone who has done a French EME or payment-institution application, with crypto-specific blocks added:
- Programme of operations — services, customer journey, asset types in scope
- Business plan — three-year projections and the own-funds trajectory
- Governance map — dirigeants effectifs and key function holders, with fitness-and-properness files
- Internal control — risk, conformité, contrôle permanent, contrôle périodique
- ICT and operational resilience aligned with DORA
- Custody and segregation — segregation model, cold/hot wallet split, key management, sub-custody
- Market-abuse policy — MiCA’s own market-abuse regime (Articles 88 onwards) applies to crypto-assets
- AML/CTF programme — including the Travel Rule and self-hosted-wallet flows
- Conduct framework — risk warnings, complaints, marketing consistency with AMF doctrine
- White papers where the firm also issues tokens — see MiCA white paper drafting
6. PSAN-to-MiCA migration
Facts: a PSAN-registered exchange has been operating in France for three years and assumes its registration rolls over into MiCA.
What the rule says: it does not. MiCA requires a fresh CASP authorisation; the transitional regime only permits continued operation during a defined window, and a firm that has not been authorised by the end of that window must stop providing crypto-asset services.
What the practitioner does: checks the current end date of the French transition window with the AMF, back-plans the dossier from that date allowing for feedback rounds, and files early — the CASP file is materially heavier than the PSAN registration, particularly on governance, DORA, custody segregation and market abuse.
7. Realistic timing
Article 63 MiCA gives the authorities 25 working days to assess completeness and a further 40 working days for the substantive decision once the file is complete. In practice, completeness rounds and follow-up questions stretch this: a realistic end-to-end plan for a first-time applicant is six to nine months, including pre-application engagement. PSAN migrants with a mature compliance stack typically run shorter, because much of the AML and conduct material already exists and needs upgrading rather than creating.
8. What switches on at grant
- Travel Rule data obligations on every crypto-asset transfer
- DAC8 tax reporting from 2026 onwards
- TRACFIN suspicious-activity reporting and tipping-off rules under the CMF
- Market-abuse monitoring and reporting under MiCA
- Conduct and complaint-handling obligations
- AMF supervisory reporting
- Passporting notifications where activity extends cross-border
Facts: a newly authorised French CASP wants to onboard customers in Belgium and Italy in month two.
What the rule says: MiCA’s passporting mechanism applies — the home authorities notify the host-state authorities of the intended cross-border services, and the firm may start after the notification procedure runs its course.
What the practitioner does: files the passport notifications at grant rather than at launch, so the notification clock runs while the local go-to-market is being built. See branch vs Freedom of Services.
9. FAQ
Do I file with the AMF or the ACPR?
Both, through a single joint dossier. The AMF leads on conduct, the ACPR on prudential matters, and the two coordinate internally. You do not run two separate applications.
If I’m PSAN-registered, am I CASP-authorised?
No. PSAN was a national registration regime; MiCA requires a fresh CASP authorisation. Article 143 transitional provisions allow continued operation only within the defined window.
How much capital does a French CASP need?
€50,000, €125,000 or €150,000 depending on the service class — but ongoing own funds are the higher of that floor and a quarter of the previous year’s fixed overheads, which is usually the binding figure for a real business.
How is AMF doctrine relevant to the file?
The AMF consolidates its policy positions in published doctrine — on marketing communications, risk warnings and the PSAN-to-MiCA migration. A strong dossier addresses the relevant doctrine explicitly rather than leaving the reviewer to check.
What is the difference between a CASP and an EME for stablecoin work?
An e-money institution may issue an EMT — a token referencing one official currency — under MiCA Title IV. A CASP provides crypto-asset services under Title V. A firm doing both holds both authorisations.
Does the French CASP authorisation passport across the EU?
Yes. MiCA authorisation is valid across the Union via the notification mechanism; the home authorities notify each host state. Host states have very limited grounds to object.
10. What to do, today
- Founders: confirm whether your model triggers CASP authorisation, ART/EMT issuance, or both — the competent authority differs.
- PSAN holders: do not assume continuity; verify the transition end date and start the CASP dossier now.
- CTO: build the custody segregation and key-management annex with engineering input from day one.
- CFO: compute own funds on the fixed-overheads method, not the headline floor, and capitalise against the higher figure.
- MLRO: stand up the Travel Rule and TRACFIN reporting flows during the application — both are live on day one.
Related: MiCA white paper drafting · MiCA Travel Rule · CASP authorisation in Spain · CASP authorisation in Luxembourg · The MiCA CASP transition after 1 July 2026
