On 2 May 2025, the French DDADUE Law 5 was published, introducing notable changes to the taking of security interest over crypto-assets in France. This legislation further aligns France with the European Union's broader regulatory framework, particularly MiCA, which entered into application on 30 December 2024. However, as MiCA did not address nor create an harmonised EU legal regime for pledging crypto-assets, the DDADUE law innovates in this respect.
The DDADUE law clarifies the legal regime for transactions in financial securities registered using distributed ledger technology (article L. 211-7 of the Financial Code), permits the use of crypto-assets as collateral for financial obligations (article L. 211-38 of the Financial Code), and establishes a regime for pledging crypto-assets (article L. 226-5 of the Financial Code).
This Finbrief will focus on the pledge of crypto-assets under French law.
The pledge of crypto-assets
The DDADUE law introduces the legal framework for pledging crypto-assets through the Financial Code, which rules are inspired by the existing pledge over securities account regime (L. 211-20 of the Financial Code). The pledge of crypto-assets shall be formalised through a signed declaration by the asset owner, which can be executed using a smart contract. Such declaration makes the pledge enforceable inter partes against third parties.
The secured creditor may obtain a certificate of pledge (attestation de nantissement) from its MiCA crypto-asset service provider (CASP).
A decree from the Conseil d'État will determine the specific information the declaration of pledge has to include.
The scope of the pledge
The pledge covers:
- the crypto-assets listed in the initial declaration, including any substitutes or additions;
- their fruits and products, where applicable (the parties may choose to exclude them from the pledge base).
These assets are considered part of the pledge from the date of the initial declaration.
Rights and responsibilities of the parties
The DDADUE law leaves a great deal of contractual freedom to the parties, allowing them, for example, to determine the conditions under which the pledgor may dispose of the crypto-assets and sums included in the collateral base. However, the law also provides for some legal requirements, for example, the secured creditor has a right of retention over the pledged crypto-assets and sums, in accordance with the terms agreed by the parties.
When a service provider authorised under relevant regulations (such as a MiCA CASP) acts as custodian of these assets, the pledgee can request an attestation detailing the inventory of the pledged assets. Attention is drawn to the fact that each pledge shall be notified to the relevant service providers. The fruits and products of the pledged assets, if not excluded by agreement and when in the form of fiat, are credited to a designated account in the books of a credit institution and are considered part of the pledge from the date of the initial declaration (i.e., not the date of the opening of the account, nor the date when the fruit and products are deposited).
The enforcement of the pledge
The parties may contractually agree on the conditions for enforcing the pledge or adhere to the legal process set out in the decree from the Conseil d’Etat. The DDADUE law also addresses cases where the initial pledged assets are subject to multiple successive crypto-assets pledges, establishing the priority of creditors by the order of their initial declarations.
and then 