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France has proposed making regulated crypto platforms check DeFi protocols before connecting customers to them and face liability for certain customer losses when checks fall short, according to Cointelegraph. The joint response to the European Commission’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) consultation was published on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, and came from France’s Treasury, the Financial Markets Authority (AMF), the central bank and the Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR).
The authorities argued that crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) should answer for incidents affecting clients where they actively facilitated access, a position Cointelegraph reported from the submission. MiCA currently excludes services provided in a fully decentralized manner without intermediaries, and the French plan would extend investor safeguards to regulated platforms that connect customers to DeFi.
Also read: EU seeks industry feedback on stablecoin rules, DeFi definitions in MiCA 2.0 consultation
Key facts
- The proposal was submitted as a joint response from France’s Treasury, AMF, Banque de France and ACPR, published October 21, 2026.
- Platforms would have to vet DeFi protocols before access and keep monitoring them for vulnerabilities and suspicious activity.
- France backed certification of protocols and smart contracts, with full requirements for significant CASPs and scaled obligations for smaller providers.
- The authorities opposed blanket certification for non-custodial wallet developers, favoring voluntary certification for advanced wallets that integrate DeFi.
- France also backed moving supervision of significant CASPs to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and lowering the current 15 million average daily active user threshold.
How the DeFi obligations would work
Under the plan, a regulated platform routing customers to a DeFi protocol would first assess smart contract security, operational vulnerabilities and related risks, then continue monitoring once the protocol is live. Platforms could still connect customers to uncertified protocols if they ran their own due diligence and provided enhanced risk disclosures.
Liability would not be automatic: Crypto.news reported that the authorities have not proposed making platforms responsible for every DeFi exploit, and the provisions would cover incidents where a regulated intermediary actively facilitated access and adequate checks could have identified the problem. Cryptobriefing reported that the AMF and ACPR are leading the consultations behind the push, and that the AMF and ACPR began work on smart contract certification in 2024, continuing into 2025 alongside public consultations.
Also read: MiCA’s next frontier: Why DeFi lending vaults are a regulatory puzzle for Brussels
The reports differ in emphasis rather than figures. Cryptobriefing casts the plan as a move toward centralized platforms acting as gatekeepers, while Crypto.news stresses that the proposals remain consultation submissions and would require legislative changes before becoming enforceable obligations. Neither report names specific tokens or protocols; Cryptobriefing noted the focus is structural, on how platforms behave.
Beyond DeFi: supervision and stablecoins
France’s submission went past DeFi. The authorities proposed transferring supervision of “significant CASPs” from national regulators to ESMA, and suggested weighing custody assets, business risks and group complexity when deciding which firms qualify, not just user numbers.
They also questioned MiCA’s asset-referenced token (ART) category, noting no ARTs had been authorized under the framework, and proposed adapting the e-money token framework to cover multicurrency stablecoins. Crypto.news reported that in October, Circle’s USDC received significant token classification, bringing specified aspects of its European operations under direct European Banking Authority supervision beginning November 12.
Why it matters
For exchanges and brokers holding MiCA licenses, offering DeFi access would carry new compliance costs: protocol reviews, possible certification and shared liability for certain losses. That creates an incentive to offer fewer protocols inside regulated apps. The submission also signals that France wants MiCA’s perimeter widened rather than leaving DeFi untouched as crypto markets develop.
What to watch
The Commission is expected to submit its MiCA review report to EU lawmakers by June 30, 2027, potentially with legislative proposals. Watch the progress of the AMF and ACPR consultations and any formal EU response to France’s submission, which remains a proposal rather than an enforceable rule.
Reported by cointelegraph.com.
Sources: Cointelegraph, Cryptobriefing, Crypto.news