The French authorities believe that while the convergence of crypto-assets with traditional finance does not warrant merging their legal regimes, better articulation and increased convergence are necessary. They advocate for streamlining MiCA rules and clarifying its boundaries with texts governing financial instruments and payment services, asserting that a financial instrument must remain subject to its specific law, regardless of the technology used.
They also support the development of euro stablecoins and tokenized bank deposits, seeking to accelerate their use, particularly for cross-border payments. An explicit ban is proposed for EU-authorized providers offering services on stablecoins not compliant with MiCA. These solutions would enhance the Union's autonomy and the euro's international role.
The Union must preserve access to global crypto-asset liquidity through regulated providers. The authorities propose to regulate the multi-issuance of stablecoins, based on equivalence assessments, cooperation between supervisors, and additional guarantees on reserves and redemption rights.
Regarding supervision, the French authorities suggest strengthening the role of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in overseeing significant crypto-asset service providers and crypto-conglomerates. They also recommend adapting prudential requirements and coordinating efforts against unauthorized providers.
Finally, a secure and proportionate regulatory framework is envisioned for the development of decentralized finance in Europe, including safeguards for users, clearly assigned responsibilities for intermediaries, and clarification of rules applicable to staking, lending, and borrowing of crypto-assets.
