- Europe has outpaced the U.S. in crypto regulation, with Q1 2025 EU trading volume up 70 % after MiCA took effect, enabling firms to operate across all 27 member states.
- France led the surge with a 175 % spike in activity, benefiting from early regulation via the 2019 PACTE law and strong institutional support, making it a key MiCA launchpad.
- MiCA’s cross-border licensing model promotes a decentralised regulatory environment, while France explores nation-state Bitcoin adoption with support from figures like Samson Mow.
Europe has overtaken the US in the regulatory race for crypto dominance, and it shows in the trading numbers: EU has surged up 70% in the first quarter of 2025 shortly after the Markets In Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework came into full force on January first.
This is according to Paybis’ co-founder Konstantins Vasilenko, who outlined that it’s not just about more and frequent trades, but less and significantly larger moves under the new framework.
MiCA’s licensing window opened on January 1, giving crypto firms a path to regulatory approval that spans the entire EU bloc. Once licensed in a single member state, companies can operate across all 27—an approach that offers both operational efficiency and legal protection for retail clients.
France Leads Spike in Trading Activity
Moving on, Vasilenko said Paybis witnessed a massive 175 % spike in trading activity in France following the rollout of the MiCA framework. The country’s head start stems from groundwork laid in 2019 with the PACTE law, which mandated AML registration for crypto exchanges well before the rest of the EU caught up.
With established fintech hubs like Station F and strong support from the AMF, France has become a sort of launchpad for compliant crypto activity. Its regulatory infrastructure now complements MiCA’s broader framework, making it a natural beneficiary of the EU’s unified rules.
Interestingly enough, French lawmaker Sarah Knafo recently invited Jane3’s founder Samson Mow to visit the country, with Mow stating:
Looking forward to starting a nation-state Bitcoin adoption wave in France and perhaps all of Europe.
Samson Mow, Jan3 Founder.As Paybis’ Konstantins Vasilenko noted, liquidity could flow through Frankfurt or Paris, while customer support runs out of Dublin and compliance is handled in Vilnius, all under a single regulatory umbrella.
That means the US has a lot to catch up on, despite Donald Trump’s outspoken support for the cryptocurrency industry. Talking about regulation, the US Senate recently passed the GENIUS Act, which could introduce a nationwide licensing framework for stablecoins.
If passed this year, it could begin to reverse the outflow of users and capital, according to Vasilenko.
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