A dedicated Working Group for smart contract certification
On 3 February 2025, the Working Group on smart contract certification (a smart contract being a computer protocol designed to facilitate, verify, and execute transactions on blockchains), which had convened under the auspices of the ACPR-AMF Fintech Forum, published a report for public consultation. The document represents a significant milestone to the ongoing discussions on the regulatory framework for decentralised finance (DeFi) within the European Union.
The report examined the technical and regulatory challenges related to the certification of smart contracts, in anticipation of potential future regulation. Three main areas were addressed:
- Standards: security, governance, and compliance of the services provided, applicable to various execution environments.
- Audit: analysis of existing audit practices and potential certification frameworks (public authority, third-party auditor, self-certification).
- Regulatory avenues: options ranging from voluntary certification to a general obligation, with proportionate approaches depending on the case.
Industry stakeholders were invited to provide feedback in order to further inform this exploratory work.
Responses to the consultation confirm the proposed principles on technical standards and audit
Following publication, twenty responses were received to the questions posed in the consultation, allowing for clarification of certain technical aspects and further refinement of the reflections. The response summary document provides a concise presentation of the consultation feedback.
On the proposed technical standards, a majority of respondents expressed their support for the principles set out in the report, which they consider to be aligned with industry best practices, albeit with some nuances raised on certain principles.
Regarding audit methods, most respondents approved the approaches explored by the Working Group in identifying different audit methodologies, as well as the issues and challenges they entail.
Finally, on regulatory avenues, industry stakeholders highlighted the relevance of distinguishing between the different certification frameworks proposed in the report and indicated their preference for a voluntary certification scheme.
The ACPR and the AMF would like to thank all respondents for their feedback, and intend to continue discussions with them and other stakeholders.
