French authorities have proposed changes to the European Union’s crypto framework that could make regulated crypto platforms responsible for certain customer losses linked to decentralized finance protocols. The proposal would apply when platforms actively facilitate access but fail to assess known risks or properly examine the protocols they make available.
According to Cointelegraph, the proposal was published on Wednesday in a joint response to a European Commission consultation. It was submitted by France’s Treasury, the Financial Markets Authority, the central bank and the Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority.
The initiative comes as EU officials review whether the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, commonly known as MiCA, remains suitable as crypto markets and services develop. The Commission’s consultation included activities that were not fully covered when the regulation was designed, including DeFi. Responses will contribute to a report for EU lawmakers due by June 30, 2027. That report could include recommendations to amend MiCA.
Platforms could face duties when they open the door to DeFi
DeFi refers to blockchain-based financial services that operate through protocols and smart contracts rather than through a conventional financial intermediary. MiCA currently excludes crypto services provided in a fully decentralized manner when no intermediary is involved. France’s proposal focuses on a different situation: regulated crypto-asset service providers, or CASPs, that give their customers a route into those protocols.
French authorities said CASPs should be liable for certain incidents affecting customers when they have actively facilitated access. In practice, the proposed approach would place new responsibilities on exchanges and other regulated platforms that connect users with DeFi services, rather than treating all DeFi activity as outside the regulatory framework.
The authorities proposed that platforms assess DeFi protocols before making them available and continue monitoring them for vulnerabilities and suspicious activity. They also supported certification for protocols and smart contracts, as well as liability for platforms in certain incidents.
The obligations would be applied most fully to significant CASPs, while smaller providers would face requirements scaled to their size. Platforms would not necessarily be barred from connecting customers to uncertified protocols. However, they would need to carry out their own due diligence and provide stronger risk disclosures before offering that access.
The proposal therefore links customer protection to the role played by the platform. A provider that merely operates within a fully decentralized system would remain distinct from an exchange or service that actively selects, presents or connects customers to a protocol.
France also addresses wallets and MiCA supervision
The French authorities opposed imposing blanket certification requirements on developers of non-custodial or self-custodial wallets. These wallets allow users to control their own crypto assets rather than placing custody with an exchange or another service provider.
At the same time, France supported voluntary certification for more advanced wallets that integrate DeFi services. The distinction reflects the broader focus of the proposal: obligations would be more closely connected to services that actively facilitate access to decentralized applications than to wallet development in general.
France also called for a change in the supervision of significant CASPs. It backed transferring oversight of those platforms from national regulators to the European Securities and Markets Authority, or ESMA, the EU’s securities supervisor.
Under current MiCA rules, the threshold for identifying a significant CASP is 15 million average daily active users in the European Union. France proposed lowering that threshold. It also suggested that regulators consider additional factors, including assets held in custody, business risks and the complexity of a platform’s corporate group when determining whether ESMA should supervise it.
These proposals would broaden the basis for identifying platforms that could have a large or complex impact across the EU. They also indicate that France wants supervision to reflect more than user numbers alone.
Stablecoin rules are also in France’s proposals
Beyond DeFi and platform supervision, the French authorities called for a review of MiCA’s asset-referenced token, or ART, category. ARTs are tokens designed to maintain a stable value by referring to one or more assets, or to a combination of assets.
The authorities noted that no ARTs had been authorized under MiCA. They proposed adapting the framework for e-money tokens, or EMTs, so that it could cover multicurrency stablecoins. Stablecoins are crypto assets intended to maintain a relatively stable value, with their design often linked to currencies or other reference assets.
The proposals are not yet changes to EU law. They form part of the Commission’s consultation process, and the Commission is expected to use the responses in preparing its report for lawmakers. Any eventual amendments would require further consideration through the EU legislative process.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar market data at the stated times showed mixed performance across the listed assets:
- Lighter (LIT) was priced at $3.3643806713, up 6.19% over 24 hours and 0.84% over seven days, as of October 21, 2026, at 10:58 +03:30.
- Propy (PRO) traded at $0.3476028761, down 0.44% over 24 hours and 9.13% over seven days, as of October 21, 2026, at 10:59 +03:30.
- Fusionist (ACE) stood at $0.2793144821, up 45.34% over 24 hours and 146.86% over seven days, based on data at August 20, 2026, at 18:44 +03:30.
- Infinity Ground (AIN) was at $0.1025293171, down 31.28% over 24 hours but up 48.10% over seven days, based on data at September 16, 2026, at 01:39 +03:30.
The different timestamps mean the figures do not represent a single synchronized market snapshot.
