Europe

France crypto restrictions and exchange access

France applies the EU's MiCA rules through the AMF, so an exchange needs a MiCA authorisation to serve residents, and crypto gains are taxed at a flat rate.

Available

of 22 platforms

Limited

of 22 platforms

Restricted

of 22 platforms

Regulators

Top exchanges by access score

Last updated 20 Oct 2026

Map of France and its neighbours with France highlighted, beside the 22 tracked platforms grouped by status in France: 7 restricted (Bitget, Gemini, HTX, Kalshi, KuCoin, MEXC, Polymarket); 7 limited (Aster, Binance, Bitfinex, Bybit, Crypto.com, Gate, Hyperliquid); 8 available (Bitstamp, Coinbase, Jupiter, Kraken, Lighter, OKX, PancakeSwap, Uniswap). Right: 7 of 22 tracked platforms refuse France; 7 are limited; the AMF had authorised 31 firms under MiCA when the transition ended on 1 July 2026; the flat tax on crypto gains realised from 2026 is 31.4%.

Is crypto legal in France?

Yes, through authorised providers. France regulates who may serve you, not whether you may hold crypto: since 1 July 2026 every provider needs a MiCA authorisation, from the AMF or from another EU regulator.

The EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) set the licensing rules, and its provider rules have applied since 30 December 2024. Before that, French providers registered with the AMF as PSANs under the 2019 Pacte law. The AMF’s 17 June 2025 notice let those already operating carry on until 1 July 2026, or until their MiCA application was granted or refused, and closed the old route to new providers.

That date has passed. On 6 July 2026 the AMF said the European framework applies to every participant without distinction, that France had authorised 31 firms, and that 283 had been authorised across the EU. Firms without authorisation must follow an orderly wind-down. The AMF’s 5 February 2026 reminder put the penalty for carrying on regardless at two years in prison and a EUR 30,000 fine. ESMA’s statement of 23 June 2026 adds that firms outside the EU may not serve EU clients, and that clients of an unauthorised provider lose MiCA’s protections.

Which crypto exchanges work in France?

Seven of the exchanges we track serve French users under a MiCA licence: Coinbase, Kraken, OKX, Bitstamp, Bybit, Crypto.com and Gate. Four are fully available; Bybit, Crypto.com and Gate are limited because they offer no derivatives here.

None of them holds an AMF authorisation. Each is licensed by another EU regulator and serves France on a passport, which is why the chart names the regulator that granted the licence. The AMF’s white list records these passported providers alongside the firms it authorised itself, and ESMA’s interim register carries the licence dates. Bybit’s passport is also listed on its own AMF page.

The AMF’s own authorisations went to French firms outside our platform set. The first was Deblock, on 23 May 2025; Coinhouse followed on 7 May 2026 and Paymium on 22 June 2026, according to the same white list. Binance does not appear on the list by name, and its position is covered under the blocked platforms below.

Best crypto platforms for French residents

By our access score, Bitstamp, Coinbase and Kraken (each 8.0 out of 10) are the most open exchanges for French residents, OKX (7.5) comes next, and Uniswap, Jupiter, PancakeSwap and Lighter (8.0) are the most open DeFi platforms. No prediction market is open to them.

The score rates how fully a French resident can use each platform, not its fees or safety. It is computed from our data and moves when a row changes: access status (4 points), the share of the platform’s products open here (3), the licences we hold on file for France (2) and what our geo-access test saw from a French address (1). Nobody scores above 8.0, because every platform here serves France on an EU passport or has no licence at all, and none holds a licence booked to France. Platforms that refuse French users are not scored. The full method is on our methodology page.

Exchanges

Bitstamp
Best for Spot trading from a long-running EU licence
8.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Bitstamp Europe S.A. holds a CSSF MiCA licence from 15 May 2025
- Our test loaded the home page from a French address
Cons
- No French entity: served from Luxembourg
Read our Bitstamp report
Coinbase
Best for A MiCA-licensed exchange with the widest reach
8.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Coinbase Luxembourg S.A. holds a CSSF MiCA licence passported across the EEA
- Our test loaded sign-up from a French address with no barrier
Cons
- No French entity: served from Luxembourg
Read our Coinbase report
Kraken
Best for Spot trading under an Irish MiCA licence
8.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Payward Europe Solutions holds a Central Bank of Ireland MiCA licence, passported across the EEA
- Our test loaded sign-up from a French address with no barrier
Cons
- No French entity: served from Ireland
Read our Kraken report
OKX
Best for A global brand with a local EU site
7.5/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
0.5/1
Pros
- OKX Europe Limited holds an MFSA MiCA licence from 27 January 2025
- okx.com points French visitors to OKX Europe
Cons
- Served from Malta, not by a French entity
Read our OKX report
Crypto.com
Best for Spot trading in an app
6.3/10
Access
3.5/4
Products
1.8/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Foris DAX MT Limited holds a Malta MiCA licence from 27 January 2025
- Spot trading and the app are offered
Cons
- Derivatives are on its geo-restrictions list for France
Read our Crypto.com report
Gate
Best for Spot trading on a licensed EU arm
5.5/10
Access
3.5/4
Products
1.5/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
0.5/1
Pros
- Gate Technology Ltd holds a Maltese MiCA licence
- Spot trading is open to French users
Cons
- No derivatives: global Gate lists France as restricted
- Our test showed an EU-region notice at sign-up
Read our Gate report
Bybit
Best for Spot trading only
5.4/10
Access
3.5/4
Products
1.9/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
0/1
Pros
- Spot is served by Bybit EU GmbH under an Austrian MiCA licence
Cons
- Bybit EU offers no derivatives
- Global Bybit excludes France and refused our test visit
Read our Bybit report

DeFi

Jupiter
Best for Solana swaps
8.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- France is not named in its terms
- Its app loaded in our test
Cons
- No licence on file for France
Read our Jupiter report
Lighter
Best for Perpetuals from your own wallet
8.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- France is not named in its terms
- Its trading app loaded in our test
Cons
- No licence on file for France
Read our Lighter report
PancakeSwap
Best for BNB Chain swaps and pools
8.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Not excluded by its terms
- The swap page loaded in our test
Cons
- No licence on file for France
Read our PancakeSwap report
Uniswap
Best for Swapping tokens from your own wallet
8.0/10
Access
4/4
Products
3/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Its terms bar only places under comprehensive US sanctions
- Our test loaded the swap app from a French address
Cons
- No licence on file for France
Read our Uniswap report
Hyperliquid
Best for Perpetuals and spot on its own chain
5.9/10
Access
3/4
Products
1.9/3
Licences
0/2
Our test
1/1
Pros
- Perpetuals and spot loaded in our test
- Not excluded by its terms
Cons
- Its outcome markets tab is hidden from French addresses
Read our Hyperliquid report

Which platforms block French users?

Seven of the 22 platforms we track refuse French users: Bitget, Gemini, HTX, KuCoin, MEXC, Kalshi and Polymarket. Seven more are limited: Binance, Bybit, Crypto.com, Gate, Bitfinex, Aster and Hyperliquid.

Most exits trace to MiCA. Bitget ended all French services on 31 March 2026, citing MiCA. Gemini closed every UK and EEA account on 6 April 2026. KuCoin EU has had trading and deposits suspended since 4 February 2026. Binance told EU users it would stop services after failing to secure a licence. HTX’s terms bar the EU, and since 23 August 2026 EU sanctions on Russia-linked providers ban dealings with it, under Regulation (EU) 2026/1848.

The AMF has also named a platform directly: it put the derivatives site asterdex.com on its blacklist on 27 February 2026 for offering services without authorisation. Bitget, which had been on the blacklist since November 2023, was removed on 9 July 2026, after its exit. The two prediction markets are covered below.

Platforms that refuse or restrict French usersPick one to see what we found

Platform	Status	Type	What we found
Bitget	Restricted	Exchange	France is on its prohibited list; all services ended on 31 March 2026
Gemini	Restricted	Exchange	Closed every account on 6 April 2026; its sign-up page refused us from France
HTX	Restricted	Exchange	Its user agreement bars all EU states, and EU sanctions ban dealings with HTX from 23 August 2026
KuCoin	Restricted	Exchange	On its restricted-locations list; KuCoin EU has had trading and deposits suspended since 4 February 2026
MEXC	Restricted	Exchange	No MiCA licence, and its own location check refused us from France
Kalshi	Restricted	Prediction market	On its restricted-jurisdictions list; its page said prediction markets are not available
Polymarket	Restricted	Prediction market	Close-only on its own list, and blocked by French internet providers since 16 July 2026
Binance	Limited	Exchange	No MiCA authorisation since 1 July 2026: sign-ups, deposits and trading closed, existing users can withdraw
Bybit	Limited	Exchange	Global Bybit excludes France; Bybit EU serves spot only
Crypto.com	Limited	Exchange	Spot is open; derivatives are on its geo-restrictions list
Gate	Limited	Exchange	Global Gate lists France as restricted; Gate EU serves spot only
Bitfinex	Limited	Exchange	No Bitfinex company is on ESMA’s register, yet sign-up stays open
Aster	Limited	DEX	Prediction trading is barred; the AMF blacklisted asterdex.com for derivatives in February 2026
Hyperliquid	Limited	DEX	Its app hides the outcome markets tab from French addresses; perpetuals and spot load

Source: platform terms and notices, AMF, ESMA, EU Official Journal, verified 17 October 2026. What each site showed us is in the next section.

What our geo-access test saw from France

From a French address on 14 and 16 October 2026 we tested all 22 platforms we track: 4 refused us, 4 showed a notice or a redirect, and 14 loaded with no barrier.

An open page is not permission. Bitget and HTX both loaded their pages although Bitget ended French services on 31 March 2026 and HTX’s terms bar the EU. The four refusals were Bybit’s global site (“not available for access in your region”), Gemini (“Gemini does not currently operate in France”), MEXC and Polymarket, whose geoblock check answered blocked. The four notices were an EU-region prompt at Gate, a switch-to-KuCoin-EU suggestion, OKX’s redirect to its European site and Kalshi’s note that prediction markets are not available. Swipe through the screenshots below; each card quotes the message the page showed.

Who regulates crypto in France?

The AMF authorises and supervises crypto firms. The ACPR authorises stablecoin issuers, the ANJ polices betting and prediction markets, and the tax office (DGFiP) receives crypto reports under the EU’s DAC8 rules.

AMF. The Autorité des marchés financiers is the national authority that authorises crypto-asset service providers, publishes the white and black lists and handles the MiCA transition, per its MiCA page.
ACPR. The prudential supervisor attached to the Banque de France. Under the same AMF page, issuers of stablecoins are authorised by the ACPR rather than the AMF; its own procedure page covers issuers and providers.
ANJ. The Autorité nationale des jeux can order internet providers to block gambling sites, and blocked 1,290 URLs in 2025, according to its July 2026 notice.
DGFiP. The tax administration sets how gains are declared and receives provider reports under DAC8, as covered in the tax section.

Which crypto products are limited in France?

Spot trading is the open product. Bybit, Crypto.com and Gate offer no derivatives to French users, and prediction trading is barred on Aster and Hyperliquid.

Derivatives. The AMF treats unauthorised crypto derivatives sites as blacklist cases: asterdex.com was listed under that heading. The three exchanges above avoid the issue by offering no derivatives in France.
Complex products. Under an AMF policy of 11 December 2025, retail complex products may reference crypto-assets only without leverage or a discretionary component, with the underlying assets held by a MiCA-authorised custodian and a minimum capitalisation of EUR 10 billion.
Staking. ESMA’s Q&A 2067 says MiCA has no staking-specific rules; where a provider holds the assets or keys, staking counts as ancillary to custody and needs the custody authorisation, with the client’s explicit consent.
Stablecoin issuance. Issuers of asset-referenced and e-money tokens must be authorised by the ACPR where required, per the AMF.

Are prediction markets legal in France?

No. The ANJ says prediction market sites are not authorised in France and are illegal gambling services, and it has had Polymarket blocked by French internet providers since 16 July 2026.

The ANJ first reached Polymarket in November 2024, after which it geoblocked France. The regulator cited penalties of up to three years in prison and a EUR 90,000 fine for offering illegal gambling. On 25 February 2026 it said prediction market sites are not authorised and named Polymarket and Kalshi as geoblocking France, while warning that a VPN still gets round the block.

The geoblock did not hold. The ANJ president ordered internet providers to block Polymarket on 16 July 2026 because it was being circumvented and checked no identity. A Paris prosecutor had opened an investigation on 4 May 2026, and the ANJ says people who share odds or advertise the site risk a fine of up to EUR 100,000. That is the ANJ’s own reading; its notices cite no statute, and we found no French bill that would licence prediction markets.

In our data Polymarket and Kalshi are restricted. Aster and Hyperliquid, which run prediction or outcome markets inside a wider product, bar or hide them for French addresses.

How is crypto taxed in France?

Gains on selling crypto are taxed at a 31.4% flat rate, unless your sales for the year total EUR 305 or less. Swapping one crypto for another with no cash involved is not taxed.

The tax administration’s guidance page, updated 17 July 2026, gives the flat tax (PFU) as 31.4%: 12.8% income tax and 18.6% social contributions. The rate applies to gains realised from 1 January 2026; the official doctrine, in the version we read, still shows 12.8% plus 17.2%, which is 30%, the rate on gains realised in 2025. The EUR 305 limit is on total sale prices for the year, not on gains. A loss can only be set against gains of the same kind in the same year. Gains go on form 2086, and you may choose the progressive income tax scale instead of the flat tax (box 3CN, which cannot be undone).

Habitual trading as a business is taxed as business income, and mining and staking income are taxed as non-commercial profits, according to the same page. Crypto accounts opened on foreign platforms must be declared with the tax return on form 3916-bis.

Reporting is changing. France brought the EU’s DAC8 rules into law through decrees of 19 December 2025, which, per Deloitte Avocats, cover transactions from 1 January 2026, so providers will report their French users to the tax office. The 2027 budget bill filed on 1 October 2026 creates no crypto tax; amendments on stablecoin swaps and an exit tax left the text when the Assemblée committee rejected its revenue section on 9 October.

Working out the tax on a French crypto saleFor an individual, from the tax administration’s guidance

Step	Detail
Spot the taxable sale	Selling for euros or paying for goods and services counts; a swap of one crypto for another with no cash balance does not
Add up the year’s sales	Total sale prices of EUR 305 or less for the year are exempt
Declare on form 2086	Gains and losses go on form 2086; a loss only offsets same-kind gains in the same year
Pay the flat tax or choose the scale	31.4% on gains realised from 2026, or the progressive scale by ticking box 3CN
Declare foreign accounts	Each crypto account held on a foreign platform is declared on form 3916-bis

Source: impots.gouv.fr, checked 17 October 2026.

Sources: AMF (1: AMF reminds digital asset service providers that the transitional period ends on 1 July 2026 (5 February 2026), 2: End of the Pacte law and MiCA transitional period (6 July 2026), 3: The European regulation Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), 4: AMF clarifies its doctrine for PSANs authorised under the Pacte law (17 June 2025), 5: End of the MiCA transitional period: ESMA sets out its expectations (23 June 2026), 6: White list of authorised crypto-asset service providers (CSV export), 7: AMF adapts its policy on complex financial products in response to the rise of crypto-assets (11 December 2025), 8: Blacklist, crypto-asset derivatives: www.asterdex.com (27 February 2026), 9: White list: Bybit EU GmbH, MiCA passport, 10: Blacklist: Bitget, removed 9 July 2026), ESMA (1: Interim MiCA register: authorised crypto-asset service providers (CASPS.csv), 2: Q&A 2067 on MiCA and staking (20 June 2024)), ACPR: Crypto-asset issuers and crypto-asset service providers, ANJ (1: Polymarket no longer offers its services in France after ANJ intervention (29 November 2024), 2: Prediction market platforms: illegal in France and potentially risky to users (25 February 2026), 3: Promotion of illegal gambling services: blocking of the Polymarket website (17 July 2026)), DGFiP (1: How to declare gains and losses on digital asset disposals (updated 17 July 2026), 2: Form 2086: declaration of gains and losses on digital asset disposals, 3: BOFiP BOI-RPPM-PVBMC-30-30: gains on digital assets), Deloitte Avocats: Transposition of the DAC8 directive into French law: implementing decree published (13 January 2026), Actufinance: PLF 2027: the crypto amendments left outside the text at the Assemblée (12 October 2026), Gemini: Areas of availability, with the UK and EEA closure notice, Bitget: Ending services in France for MiCA compliance (March 2026), KuCoin: KuCoin EU update, European Union: Regulation (EU) 2026/1848: Russia-sanctions package listing crypto-asset service providers (July 2026), CoinDesk: Binance tells EU users it will no longer provide services after failing to secure a MiCA licence (26 June 2026), checked 17 Oct 2026.

Platform availability

Explore which exchanges and prediction markets are available in France.

Platform	Type	Spot	Derivatives	Staking	Status	Last verified
Aster	DeFi	Limited	Available	Limited	Limited	17 Oct 2026
Binance	Exchange	Limited	Limited	Limited	Limited	28 Sep 2026
Bitfinex	Exchange	Limited	Limited	Limited	Limited	17 Oct 2026
Bitget	Exchange	Restricted	Restricted	–	Restricted	16 Oct 2026
Bitstamp	Exchange	Available	Available	Available	Available	17 Oct 2026
Bybit	Exchange	Available	Restricted	Limited	Limited	16 Oct 2026
Coinbase	Exchange	Available	Available	Available	Available	17 Oct 2026
Crypto.com	Exchange	Available	Restricted	–	Limited	17 Oct 2026
Gate	Exchange	Available	Restricted	–	Limited	17 Oct 2026
Gemini	Exchange	Restricted	Restricted	Restricted	Restricted	17 Oct 2026
HTX	Exchange	Restricted	Restricted	Restricted	Restricted	20 Oct 2026
Hyperliquid	DeFi	Limited	Available	Limited	Limited	17 Oct 2026
Jupiter	DeFi	Available	Available	Available	Available	17 Oct 2026
Kalshi	Prediction market	–	–	–	Restricted	17 Oct 2026
Kraken	Exchange	Available	Available	Available	Available	17 Oct 2026
KuCoin	Exchange	Restricted	Restricted	–	Restricted	16 Oct 2026
Lighter	DeFi	Available	Available	Available	Available	17 Oct 2026
MEXC	Exchange	Restricted	Restricted	–	Restricted	17 Oct 2026
OKX	Exchange	Available	Available	Available	Available	16 Oct 2026
PancakeSwap	DeFi	Available	Available	Available	Available	17 Oct 2026
Polymarket	Prediction market	–	–	–	Restricted	17 Oct 2026
Uniswap	DeFi	Available	–	–	Available	17 Oct 2026