meta_id 3009632

On 26 March 2026, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) announced its application of guidelines adopted by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) concerning the knowledge and competence requirements for staff of crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. Adopted on 28 January 2026, the ESMA guidelines establish criteria for assessing CASP staff knowledge and competence to ensure compliance with MiCA's obligation for service providers to act in clients' best interests. The guidelines clarify the general framework applicable to CASPs, requiring staff to be familiar with, understand and apply internal policies and procedures designed to ensure MiCA compliance. The guidelines distinguish between staff providing only information on crypto-assets and those providing advisory services, with different minimum annual training hour requirements for each category. Additionally, the guidelines establish organisational requirements relating to the assessment, maintenance and updating of CASP staff knowledge and competence, and include practical examples in an annex. The guidelines apply to all authorised CASPs, whether authorised through licensing or notification procedures. The AMF notes that these guidelines will become effective on 28 July 2026. All CASPs authorised in France must ensure their staff meet the specified knowledge and competence criteria by this date. The AMF has published Position DOC-2026-03 providing further detail on ESMA's guidelines for knowledge and competence assessment under MiCA. **Reference:** Autorité des marchés financiers (26 March 2026). Crypto-assets: The AMF applies ESMA guidelines on the knowledge and competence of staff of crypto-asset service providers under MiCA. Available at: https://www.amf-france.org/