Crypto Country GuideCrypto rules and tax, country by country

France: regulation

Last reviewed: October 2026

On this page
  1. Legal status and supervision
  2. Exchanges and KYC
  3. Stablecoins
  4. Crypto ATMs
  5. Scams and fraud
    1. Where to report, and what happens
  6. Self-custody
    1. If you lose access to your wallet
  7. Sources
  • Since 1 July 2026 only providers authorized under MiCA may offer crypto services in France: licensed by the AMF, or by the regulator of another EU country and passported to France. The French PSAN registrations lapsed on 2 July 2026.
  • Check a provider on the AMF white list and its black lists before you use it.
  • Expect identity checks. For transfers above €1,000 to or from your own wallet, the provider must check whether the wallet is yours.
  • Euro and dollar stablecoins from several French issuers are authorized under MiCA. Stablecoins whose issuer is not authorized can no longer be bought on EU platforms.
  • Scam platforms promise high guaranteed returns and block withdrawals. File a complaint with the police or gendarmerie and contact AMF Epargne Info Service on 01 53 45 62 00.

This page covers who supervises crypto in France, what that means when you use an exchange, and the rules for your own wallet. Which exchanges are licensed, and their fees, are on exchanges. It is general information, not legal advice.

Crypto is legal in France, but it is not legal tender: the AMF points out that bitcoin and similar assets are wrongly called “crypto-monnaies”, because they have no legal tender status. France applies the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) authorizes and supervises crypto-asset service providers (prestataires de services sur crypto-actifs, PSCA) established in France; the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR), attached to the Banque de France, supervises stablecoin issuers that are banks or e-money institutions. The EU-wide rules are explained on EU rules.

End of the PSAN regime. Before MiCA, France had its own regime: digital asset service providers (PSAN) registered with the AMF. Under article 143 of MiCA and the French law of 9 March 2023, PSANs could keep serving France until 1 July 2026. The AMF says that providers that obtained a MiCA license by then were removed from the PSAN list on the date of their license, and that all PSANs without a MiCA license were automatically removed on 2 July 2026, when the national regime was repealed. A PSAN registration alone therefore no longer allows a firm to serve customers in France.

Exchanges and KYC

An exchange or custodian that serves customers in France needs a MiCA license from the AMF, a license from another EU country that it has passported to France, or, for banks and investment firms, a notification under article 60 of MiCA. The AMF publishes a white list (liste blanche) of authorized PSCAs, including those authorized in another EU country that may serve investors in France, and the ESMA interim MiCA register shows the home regulator and the countries each provider may serve. The AMF warns that its black lists are not complete: a platform that is not on them is not necessarily reliable, so always check the white list. The licensed exchanges, with their fees, are compared on exchanges.

Expect to be identified. Providers collect your name, address, tax residence, tax identification number and date of birth, which they report to the tax authority under DAC8 (see filing and deadlines). They must also send information about the sender and recipient with crypto transfers under the EU Transfer of Funds Regulation (the travel rule), which has applied since 30 December 2024. Trading derivatives such as CFDs on crypto is a different service: it needs an investment firm license, checked in the Regafi register.

Stablecoins

MiCA has two kinds of stablecoins. An e-money token (EMT) references one official currency, such as the euro or the dollar; an asset-referenced token (ART) references another value or a mix of values. Since 30 June 2024 an EMT may only be offered to the public or admitted to trading in the EU by an issuer authorized as a bank or an e-money institution, and an ART only if its issuer has been authorized. Holders of an EMT can always redeem it at par, and no interest may be paid on it. In France the ACPR supervises EMT issuers.

For stablecoins whose issuer is not authorized in the EU, ESMA said on 17 January 2025 that crypto service providers had to stop offering them for trading, with a “sell only” period until the end of March 2025 at the latest. Holding them in custody and transferring them remains possible. ESMA did not name individual tokens.

To check a stablecoin, look up its issuer in ESMA’s interim MiCA register of EMT issuers. On 7 October 2026 it listed these issuers supervised by the ACPR in France: Circle Internet Financial Europe SAS (USDC and EURC), Société Générale-Forge (two tokens), Salvus (Schuman), Oddo BHF, Heuro (OuiTrust) and CACEIS Bank. The register of authorized ART issuers was empty, and we did not find the issuer of USDT (Tether) in the EMT register.

Crypto ATMs

Crypto ATMs are allowed only for authorized providers. The AMF said on 17 December 2024 that a crypto ATM, which lets you buy or sell crypto for cash, needs the same status as any crypto service provider, and that operators working without it face up to two years in prison and a €30,000 fine. Following reports by the AMF, the Paris specialized court (JIRS) searched and seized several crypto ATMs on 13 June and 17 December 2024 in an investigation into illegal operation and aggravated money laundering. Since MiCA, the operator needs a MiCA license; check it on the AMF white list before you use a machine.

Scams and fraud

The AMF warns that fake crypto platforms have multiplied and that “aucune société sérieuse ne peut garantir un rendement minimum” with crypto. Signs it names:

  • You are contacted by email, phone, social media or private messaging, often after leaving your details on a site about investing in crypto. The contact is very friendly and builds trust.
  • High returns are guaranteed; the AMF says guaranteed high returns (above 2 to 3%) do not exist.
  • A first small withdrawal works, then you are pushed to invest more. Later withdrawals are blocked, or you are asked to pay fake “taxes” to unlock your money.
  • You are asked to buy crypto at a licensed provider and then send it to a trading platform the scammer recommends.
  • Fake articles, social media accounts or TV images use well-known people or media to promote a platform, or a romance or friendship online leads to an investment offer.
  • After a loss, a “lawyer”, bank or authority offers to recover your money for a fee. The AMF says that neither your bank, nor the AMF, nor any other authority will ever contact you on its own to help you recover lost funds.

Other warning signs are a website without clear legal notices, and contact details and bank details abroad. Check the provider on the AMF white list and black lists, and on ESMA’s list, before you invest.

Where to report, and what happens

  • Stop paying and stop all contact with the scammer. If you sent a bank transfer recently, ask your bank at once to try to stop it. Keep all evidence: website and company details, messages, contracts, transfer orders, bank statements, wallet addresses.
  • Police or gendarmerie. File a complaint (plainte) at a police station or gendarmerie, or in writing to the public prosecutor (procureur de la République) of your local court, with all your evidence. France Victimes on 116 006 (free, every day 9:00 to 19:00) can help you with this.
  • AMF Epargne Info Service. Report the scam and get advice by phone on 01 53 45 62 00 or through the online form. For banking, savings or insurance products, Assurance Banque Epargne Info Service is on 34 14.
  • A lawyer or a consumer association can advise you and represent you.

With an illegal platform, the AMF says your only recourse is a complaint to the police or gendarmerie, and that the chances of recovering your money are very limited because scammers are usually based abroad. Beware of anyone who offers to recover your funds afterwards: Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr warns that victims are often targeted again. A dispute with a licensed exchange is different: see where to complain.

Self-custody

Keeping crypto in your own wallet is allowed. Gains are taxed the same way as on an exchange: your own wallets count in the total value of your portfolio when you sell (see personal tax). In the sources listed below we found no French rule that requires you to register a self-custody wallet, and the foreign account declaration refers to accounts held with an organization abroad (see foreign accounts).

The rules do reach you when you move crypto between a provider and your own wallet. For transfers above €1,000 to or from a self-hosted wallet, the provider must take adequate measures to assess whether the wallet is owned or controlled by its customer (Transfer of Funds Regulation). The tax authority’s power to seize and sell crypto for unpaid tax, in force since law 2026-534, applies to crypto held by a provider, not to a wallet whose keys only you hold.

Holding crypto yourself means the keys are your responsibility. If you keep larger amounts of bitcoin in your own wallet, it is worth comparing a single hardware wallet with a multisig setup; this explanation of multisig versus single-sig sets out what each protects against.

If you lose access to your wallet

We found no guidance from the French tax authority on crypto you can no longer reach, for example because you lost the seed phrase, or on how it counts in the total value of your portfolio (October 2026). Keep evidence of what happened and ask your tax office before you leave such crypto out of a calculation. What heirs need to do to reach crypto in a wallet or on an exchange is covered in this guide to crypto inheritance in France. For the rest of your digital life, such as email, password managers and online accounts, see this introduction to planning a digital estate.

Sources

This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the official sources above before you act.