Monaco submits bill to align crypto rules with EU's MiCA regime

Monaco’s government is attempting to scrap the Principality’s 2022 crypto law and rebuild its rules for crypto-asset service providers around the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). 

The government filed Bill No. 1131 in early August, and if approved, it would change the licensing requirements for firms that offer crypto services, while the regulators will receive wider powers.

Has Monaco updated its crypto laws?

Monaco’s government has filed Bill No. 1131, which would repeal the 2022 law that split crypto and digital-asset work into issuance and operational services cleared by the State Minister, and crypto-linked investment services authorized by the Commission de Contrôle des Activités Financières (CCAF).

Under the 2022 law, providers were forced to register a company inside Monaco and foreign firms were banned from cold-marketing to residents.

The proposed change would require any firm wanting to offer crypto-asset services to gain clearance from the CCAF, but prior to that, the firm would have been reviewed by the Autorité Monégasque de Sécurité Financière and the Agence Monégasque de Sécurité Numérique.

The bill lists exactly which crypto services are allowed in Monaco and sets clear rules for how companies must run their operations, manage risks, and behave professionally. It also gives the CCAF more power to oversee and penalize firms, which the government says will help stop money laundering and other financial crimes.

Why is Monaco complying with MiCA? 

Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs found that firms that have not been authorized by MiCA are far more likely to carry a high or severe risk rating. 

Monaco has sat on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list since the summer of 2024, and was added to the European Commission’s list of high-risk money-laundering jurisdictions more than a year ago. 

The country’s alignment with MiCA is in hopes that it gets taken off these lists, as designations like this can result in slow international transactions, raised compliance costs and even increase borrowing costs for local businesses. 

However, only 281 of 1,343 crypto service providers operating across the European Economic Area have secured MiCA authorization.

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