Monaco rewrites crypto rulebook to escape FATF grey list

Monaco’s government filed Bill No. 1131 with the National Council on August 6, 2026, proposing a full overhaul of the Principality’s licensing regime for crypto-asset service providers. If passed, the bill would replace Law No. 1.528, enacted in July 2022, and bring Monaco’s framework closer to the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The filing comes roughly two years after Monaco was placed on the FATF grey list on June 28, 2024, for strategic deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regime. Monaco has committed to exiting the list by mid-2026, and the new bill forms part of that effort.

What changes under the new framework

Law No. 1.528 split crypto-asset oversight into two tracks. Asset issuance and operational services required approval from the State Minister, while investment services involving crypto assets required authorization from the Commission de Contrôle des Activités Financières (CCAF). Providers also had to establish a registered company in Monaco, and foreign firms were barred from soliciting Monegasque residents through unsolicited marketing.

Bill No. 1131 consolidates licensing authority, requiring all crypto-asset service providers to obtain prior authorization from the CCAF. Licenses would be granted only after joint review by the Autorité Monégasque de Sécurité Financière and the Agence Monégasque de Sécurité Numérique.

The bill also expands the CCAF’s supervisory and enforcement powers and introduces stricter requirements around corporate governance, prudential safeguards, and professional conduct.

If the National Council approves the bill, the statutory framework will be followed by secondary implementing regulations setting out technical requirements for providers.

Why the grey-listing matters

Monaco’s inclusion on the FATF grey list followed a June 2024 finding that the Principality had not done enough to stop money laundering tied to fraud committed abroad or to seize illegal assets overseas. Monaco has since passed nine new laws and created a unified financial intelligence and AML/CFT supervisory authority as part of a national strategy running through 2027.

Monaco was also added to the European Commission’s list of high-risk third countries for money laundering in 2025. That designation can slow cross-border transactions, raise compliance costs, and, over time, pressure sovereign and corporate credit ratings, raising borrowing costs for Monegasque institutions in international capital markets.

The Bit Gazette will update this story as Bill No. 1131 moves through the National Council.