CASP lawyers in France: MiCA authorisation
Since 1 July 2026, no provider may offer crypto-asset services in France without an authorisation granted under the MiCA Regulation or a European passport. ORWL Avocats advises crypto-asset service providers (CASPs, known in France as prestataires de services sur crypto-actifs or PSCA) at every stage of their regulatory life: qualification of the activity, authorisation by the AMF, ongoing compliance, anti-money laundering, digital operational resilience, changes of ownership and, where needed, an orderly exit.
Who needs a CASP authorisation?
Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA) governs crypto-asset services provided to clients in the European Union. Its provisions on service providers have applied since 30 December 2024. Any legal person or other undertaking providing one of these services on a professional basis must be authorised by the competent authority of its home Member State. In France, the AMF (Autorité des marchés financiers, the French financial markets regulator) examines applications and grants authorisations; the ACPR (Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution, the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority) gives an opinion on the fitness and propriety of managers and shareholders, on the anti-money laundering framework and on payment services.
MiCA lists ten crypto-asset services: custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients; operation of a trading platform; exchange of crypto-assets for funds; exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets; execution of orders on behalf of clients; placing of crypto-assets; reception and transmission of orders; advice on crypto-assets; portfolio management on crypto-assets; and transfer of crypto-assets on behalf of clients.
Three situations fall outside the authorisation requirement. Tokens that qualify as financial instruments come under MiFID II, not MiCA. Most non-fungible tokens (NFTs) stay outside the Regulation as long as they remain unique and not fungible. Dealing on own account (corporate treasury, intra-group transactions) is not a service provided to third parties. ORWL Avocats also advises issuers and platforms on classifying tokens under MiCA, and NFT projects on the regime that applies to collections and marketplaces.
The French transitional period ended on 1 July 2026: former digital asset service providers (PSAN, the French regime that preceded MiCA) that did not obtain a CASP authorisation had to cease their activity in France. A provider authorised in another Member State may serve French clients under a MiCA passport; ORWL Avocats also advises providers established outside the Union that wish to serve the French market.
The life cycle of a CASP: six stages, six areas of work
A provider does not deal with regulation once and for all. Authorisation opens a lasting relationship with the regulator, fed by every transaction on the capital, every new service and every incident. We act at each of the six stages of that relationship.
Obtaining CASP authorisation from the AMF
The application describes the provider’s activity, organisation and resources: programme of operations, business plan, own funds, policies and procedures, managers and shareholders. The AMF has twenty-five working days to check that the application is complete, then forty working days to assess it; in practice, exchanges with the regulator set the pace of the review. We prepare the application service by service (custody, exchange, reception and transmission of orders, advice) and answer the AMF’s questions.
Staying compliant once authorised
Authorisation brings ongoing obligations: published policies, terms and conditions, best execution, prevention of conflicts of interest, record-keeping of orders and transactions, internal control, safeguarding of clients’ funds and crypto-assets, insurance and own funds, contracts with partners. We set these arrangements up and keep them current.
Fighting money laundering and terrorist financing
A CASP is an obliged entity under AML/CFT rules: risk classification, customer due diligence, the travel rule on transfers, applicable since 30 December 2024, reports to Tracfin (the French financial intelligence unit), staff training. The European Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR) will apply from 10 July 2027.
Ensuring digital operational resilience (DORA)
DORA has applied to CASPs since 17 January 2025: ICT risk governance, register of ICT third-party service providers, incident management and reporting, resilience testing.
Changing shareholders and managers
Any acquisition or disposal of a qualifying holding (10% of the capital or voting rights, then crossing the 20%, 30% and 50% thresholds) must be notified to the AMF before the transaction. Replacing a manager follows a similar procedure. We prepare these notifications and secure the timetable of the transaction.
Winding down in an orderly way
A provider that gives up a service or closes organises its exit: an orderly wind-down plan, which every CASP providing custody, the operation of a trading platform, exchange, execution of orders or placing must have in place from authorisation; return of funds and crypto-assets to clients; information to, and follow-up with, the AMF. The firm also advises foreign platforms that must leave the French market and get off the AMF blacklist.
Which services, what minimum capital?
The authorisation application is built service by service: each of MiCA’s ten services has its own definition, its own obligations and its own capital class. The table lists them from the least demanding class to the most demanding. The minimum capital is that of the most demanding service applied for; it is not added up from one service to the next.
| MiCA service | What it covers | Minimum capital | Service-specific obligations | Expected deliverables |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reception and transmission of orders | Receiving a client’s buy or sell order and transmitting it to a third party for execution. | €50,000 | Prompt and proper transmission; no remuneration from a third party for routing orders. | Order transmission procedures, conflicts of interest policy |
| Execution of orders | Concluding purchases or sales of crypto-assets on behalf of clients, including subscriptions. | €50,000 | Best possible result for the client; monitoring of the policy’s effectiveness. | Order execution policy, execution monitoring reports |
| Placing | Marketing crypto-assets to purchasers on behalf of the issuer or a seller. | €50,000 | Information to the offeror before the agreement; management of conflicts of interest specific to placing. | Placing procedure, offeror information template |
| Transfer services | Moving crypto-assets from one address or account to another on behalf of a client. | €50,000 | Written agreement on the terms of the transfer; travel rule. | Transfer agreement with the client, travel rule procedure |
| Advice | Giving a client a personalised recommendation on a transaction or on the use of a crypto-asset service. | €50,000 | Suitability assessment; information on risks. | Suitability questionnaire, suitability report, evidence of advisers’ knowledge and competence |
| Portfolio management | Managing, on a discretionary and client-by-client basis, a portfolio that includes crypto-assets. | €50,000 | Suitability assessment; periodic statement. | Portfolio management agreement, suitability questionnaire, periodic statements |
| Custody and administration | Holding or controlling crypto-assets, or the keys that give access to them, on behalf of clients. | €125,000 | Written agreement, register of positions, segregation, liability for loss. | Custody agreement, custody policy, register of positions |
| Exchange for funds | Buying crypto-assets from clients, or selling them to clients, against money, on the provider’s own capital. | €125,000 | Non-discriminatory commercial policy; published firm price or pricing method. | Commercial policy, pricing methodology |
| Exchange for other crypto-assets | Exchanging crypto-assets with clients for other crypto-assets, on the provider’s own capital. | €125,000 | Same rules as exchange for funds. | Commercial policy, pricing methodology |
| Operation of a trading platform | Bringing together buying and selling interests in a multilateral system. | €150,000 | Operating rules, admission to trading, prohibition on dealing on own account, price transparency. | Operating rules, rules on admission to trading, market abuse detection arrangements |
The minimum capital is a floor. The provider must at all times hold prudential safeguards at least equal to the higher of two amounts: that floor, or one quarter of its fixed overheads of the preceding year, reviewed annually. A company that has been operating for less than a year uses the fixed overheads projected for its first twelve months, as stated in its authorisation application. These safeguards take the form of Common Equity Tier 1 own funds, an insurance policy covering the territories of the Union where the services are provided, or a combination of the two. The floor says nothing about the substance expected: the AMF also assesses the provider’s human and technical resources against the services applied for.
How we work
Every engagement starts with a qualification audit: which services are provided, to whom, from where, and which regime applies. From it we draw a roadmap with a timetable and the decisions to take. We then draft the application or the procedures, handle the exchanges with the regulator and, once authorisation is granted, monitor the ongoing obligations with your teams.
Why work with ORWL Avocats?
Since 2018, ORWL Avocats has led several dozen authorisation and registration procedures before the AMF and the ACPR, first under the French PSAN regime created by the PACTE Act (loi PACTE), then under MiCA: exchanges and trading platforms, custodians, brokers and distributors, fintechs adding crypto-asset services, financial groups notifying their services. The firm then advises these providers on their compliance, their transactions on the capital and their dealings with the regulator. It is ranked by Chambers FinTech and Leaders League.
A lawyer specialising in banking and financial law as applied to crypto-asset services brings what a consultant alone cannot: a legal classification of each activity, for which the lawyer is professionally liable; legal professional privilege, which covers communications and analyses; and the ability to defend a position before the AMF and the ACPR. The team also understands how the technologies it advises on work: key custody, exchange protocols, smart contracts.
A partner leads every matter. The firm works with banks, accountants, cybersecurity advisers and insurers used to crypto matters, and takes part in industry work within ADAN, the French digital asset industry association, on whose board one of its partners sits.
ORWL Avocats’ Regulatory expertise
ORWL Avocats advises crypto-asset service providers from authorisation to cessation of activity, with recognised expertise in proceedings before the AMF and the ACPR. The firm also advises token issuers, payment institutions and Web3 projects, as part of its practice of banking and financial law applied to crypto-assets.
Frequently asked questions on the CASP regime
Our resources on the CASP regime
- DAC8 / CARF map of the countries that exchange crypto data (in French): since 1 January 2026, CASPs have been collecting data on their clients’ transactions, which they report to the tax authorities from 2027; our Tax practice assists with this compliance work.
- Legalchain, our newsletter on regulatory developments.
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