According to Bloomberg, France’s Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR) is conducting audits of dozens of platforms offering digital asset services. Sources say the process began late last year and involves over 100 companies registered in France as Prestataire de Services sur Actifs Numériques (PSAN) – organizations providing services related to cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
As part of the audits, ACPR reportedly required Binance to strengthen its risk management procedures and compliance with anti–money laundering (AML) regulations. Bloomberg’s sources noted that this could include expanding compliance teams or enhancing the security of IT systems.
Binance stated that periodic on-site inspections are a standard supervisory practice for regulated organizations.
Supervision Coordination Within the EU
The inspections come amid growing disagreements among EU member states over approaches to crypto regulation. In September, France, Austria, and Italy called on the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) to take direct oversight of the largest crypto companies and tighten requirements to eliminate discrepancies between national regulatory standards.
ACPR’s supervision focuses on ensuring that PSAN-registered firms meet registration conditions – primarily compliance with anti–money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures. Typically, after such audits, companies are given several months to address identified shortcomings.
The information gathered by ACPR is shared with the Financial Markets Authority (AMF). Failure to comply with the regulator’s recommendations could lead to sanctions or hinder the approval of a MiCA license, which grants companies the right to operate throughout the European Union.
Under current rules, companies registered in France must obtain MiCA authorization by the end of June 2026. So far, only a few firms have received it, including Deblock, GOin, Bitstack, and CACEIS – a subsidiary of French banking group Crédit Agricole.
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