Fintech 2026

FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Sylvain Clavé and Germain Chaux, Clavé Avocat

10.6 Staking In France and the EU, the provision of staking ser - vices is not regulated as a standalone activity. Instead, its regulatory treatment depends on the underlying technical model and whether it is coupled with other regulated services. Under the current framework, the AMF, in its DOC- 2020-07 position, distinguishes between the technical maintenance of a blockchain and financial intermedia - tion. While staking itself is not a digital asset service, it often requires a CASP licence if it includes custody of digital assets, which is defined as the ability to move assets in a distributed ledger in place of the client or holding a wallet where clients’ private keys are record - ed. Then, providing purely technological solutions as a “validator as a service”, such as those offered by plat - forms like Kiln (which allows users to keep exclusive control over their private keys), does not constitute a regulated custody service. This approach also aligns with the views of the ESMA and the EBA, which, in their 2025 joint report, identi - fied risks such as liquidity risks, “slashing” penalties for validator errors and custody risks, which may be enhanced in the event of market concentration. 10.7 Crypto-Related Lending Under French and EU law, crypto-related lending is not qualified as a specific, standalone service. MiCAR, as explicitly stated in its recital 94, does not address the lending and borrowing of crypto-assets, includ - ing e-money tokens. Consequently, these activities do not currently benefit from a harmonised European regulation. 10.8 Cryptocurrency Derivatives French and EU law does not feature a specific cat - egory for crypto derivatives. The regulation of crypto derivatives is governed by a functional legal analysis. Following a 2018 legal analysis, the AMF considers that any derivative with a crypto-asset as an underly - ing asset that is settled in cash is legally classified as a financial contract. According to the French Monetary and Financial Code, these contracts (including CFDs, binary options and rolling spot forex) constitute finan - cial instruments. They fall under the strict regime of MiFID II and MiFIR rather than the MiCAR framework,

(b) e-money tokens (EMTs); and (c) other crypto-assets such as utility tokens, which are intended to provide access to a spe - cific good or service. 10.4 Regulation of “Issuers” of Blockchain Assets Following the entry into application of MiCAR, the landscape for token issuers has transitioned from an optional, national “visa” for initial coin offerings (ICOs) regime to a harmonised and mandatory European framework. By 30 June 2026, all new offerings must comply with the MiCAR regime. • Issuance of stablecoins (ARTs or EMTs) is strictly regulated. Issuers of EMTs must be licensed as credit institutions or electronic money institutions and are supervised by the ACPR. Issuers of ARTs must obtain prior authorisation and maintain a reserve of assets. • For other crypto-assets, including utility tokens, the regime is based on a notification to the compe - tent authority. Issuers must submit a White Paper before the offer, which details the conditions of the issuance, the characteristics of the issuer, the rights attached to the crypto-asset, the underly - ing DLT (consensus mechanisms such as PoS or PoW), a statement on its environmental and climate-related impact, etc. 10.5 Regulation of Blockchain Asset Trading Platforms The regulation of blockchain asset trading platforms is now governed by the CASP status, which replaces the previous national DASP (PSAN) framework (registra - tion and optional licensing). The CASP status is largely inspired by the DASP status, which was created by the PACTE law. Entities that held the PSAN status will have to cease their activities after 30 June 2026, unless they obtain a CASP licence. Crypto-asset trading platforms are subject to spe - cific organisational rules. They must establish non- discretionary rules for the admission of crypto-assets, publish a transparent fee policy on their website, and maintain resilient systems to prevent market abuse (wash trading, insider dealing).

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