France asks Europe to tighten crypto rules for stablecoins and trading platforms

France's top financial authorities want Europe's crypto rulebook tightened in ways that would change which stablecoins EU platforms can offer and who answers when decentralized-finance apps fail. In a joint response published Oct. 20, the finance ministry's Treasury department (DG Trésor), the market regulator (AMF), the Banque de France and the banking supervisor (ACPR) set out proposals for the European Commission's review of MiCA [1]. None of it is law; these are France's requests.

MiCA is the EU's rulebook for crypto-asset issuers and service providers. The Commission asked for views on how to revise it, and France's answer runs to 73 pages [2].

What France is asking for

Four proposals matter most for issuers and platforms. The table below sums them up and shows where each appears in the French documents.

Sources: Response of the French authorities and joint press release, DG Trésor, Oct. 20, 2026. Table: Le Coin.

Stablecoins issued in two places

Multi-issuance means one company group issuing the same interchangeable stablecoin both inside the EU and in another country. France does not want it banned: its answer is that "the multi-issuance model for stablecoins should be permitted under MiCA" (p. 26) [2]. It wants conditions. The press release says the framework would rest on equivalence assessments, cooperation between supervisors and extra safeguards on reserves and the right to redemption (p. 1, Le Coin's translation) [3].

The response gets specific. It asks for "the automatic designation of the relevant token as a significant token" and direct supervision of the European issuer by the European Banking Authority, and it wants third countries to have "a reserve rebalancing arrangement between the issuers partaking in multi-issuance models" (p. 31) [2]. For an issuer, that would mean tighter oversight and reserves that can move to the EU side when holders there want their money back.

A ban on non-compliant coins

The French authorities want to "explicitly prohibit providers licensed in the Union from providing services on stablecoins that do not meet MiCA's requirements" (press release, p. 1, Le Coin's translation) [3]. For exchanges and custodians licensed in the EU, that would mean an explicit bar on offering services on such coins.

DeFi and platform liability

On decentralized finance, apps that run on code without a company in the middle, the response says "Responsibility should be established via identifiable intermediaries" (p. 51) [2]. It goes further for platforms: "CASPs should be liable for certain incidents affecting clients where they actively facilitated access," especially if they skipped due diligence or ignored known weaknesses (p. 55) [2]. CASPs are the licensed crypto firms, such as exchanges and brokers. The press release also calls for "a certification of protocols" (p. 2, Le Coin's translation) [3]. France also asks for clearer rules on staking and on crypto lending and borrowing [3].

Who supervises

ESMA is the EU's securities markets watchdog. France wants it to play a bigger part in supervising significant crypto service providers and crypto conglomerates (press release, p. 2) [3]. The response backs "supervision by ESMA of the crypto-asset activities of crypto-conglomerates" (p. 42) [2]. For the largest firms, that would move part of their oversight from national regulators to an EU agency.

The objection

France is one voice among 27 member states, and the Commission decides what to propose. Firms that hold licences from other national regulators may resist an EU agency taking over, and platforms will argue that liability for DeFi incidents asks them to answer for code they don't control.

The tell

In Le Coin's view, the tell is whether the Commission's MiCA proposal keeps France's explicit ban on servicing non-compliant stablecoins, because that line would hit platforms first.

Sources

[1] Direction générale du Trésor, "Révision du règlement européen sur les marchés de crypto-actifs (MiCA) : les autorités françaises publient leurs propositions conjointes," published Oct. 20, 2026. https://www.tresor.economie.gouv.fr/Articles/2026/10/20/revision-du-reglement-europeen-sur-les-marches-de-crypto-actifs-mica-les-autorites-francaises-publient-leurs-propositions-conjointes (accessed Oct. 21, 2026, 9:12 a.m. ET) [2] Response of the French authorities, Targeted consultation on the review of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), 73 pp. https://www.tresor.economie.gouv.fr/Articles/da708177-c820-42ed-bad9-157ee560b5c5/files/69f48664-174f-480f-9f0a-8ac27eec89e7 (accessed Oct. 21, 2026, 9:12 a.m. ET) [3] DG Trésor, AMF, Banque de France and ACPR, joint press release (French), 2 pp. https://www.tresor.economie.gouv.fr/Articles/da708177-c820-42ed-bad9-157ee560b5c5/files/fe028e66-706f-484b-9739-0b10d2761b23 (accessed Oct. 21, 2026, 9:12 a.m. ET)

Holding the Corner.

Not financial advice.