French lawmakers are weighing a plan to apply the country's 31.4% crypto tax to swaps into EU-regulated stablecoins, a move Chainalysis warns could push traders offshore.
Key Points:
- A committee amendment would tax crypto-to-stablecoin swaps in France starting Jan. 1, 2027.
- Chainalysis says the change could steer trading toward unregulated tokens.
- None of the crypto measures is law, and backers must refile them for a floor vote.
France Stablecoin Tax
The National Assembly's finance committee backed the amendment on Oct. 7 during talks on the 2027 budget. It would treat swaps of crypto such as Bitcoin (BTC) into stablecoins classed as electronic money tokens under the EU's MiCA rules as taxable sales.
Today, swapping one crypto for another generally triggers no tax in France, which collects its flat levy only when investors cash out or spend their gains. Lawmaker Nicolas Sansu of the left-wing GDR group filed the measure with 16 co-signers. The committee also backed an exit tax on crypto holdings above €800,000 and a 10-year carryforward for crypto losses.
Two days later, the same committee rejected the budget's entire revenue section by 31 votes to 3, sending the full Assembly back to the government's original text. Backers must refile the crypto changes before an Oct. 20 vote.
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Chainalysis Offshore Warning
Francois Volpoet, Chainalysis' CEO for France, said the plan could undercut efforts to bring more crypto activity into the regulated financial system. In an email, he asked whether officials want "more taxpayers to declare their assets" or a higher rate on a base that keeps shrinking through evasion. Regulated stablecoin trades are easier to track than DeFi or self-hosted wallets, he added.
Volpoet also questioned a second amendment that would require taxpayers to declare self-custodied crypto worth at least €100,000, with fines of up to €10,000. He cited safety risks, as France accounted for 33 of the 52 physical attacks on crypto holders worldwide in the first half of 2026, according to security firm CertiK.
French Crypto Tax Tightening
The push caps a year of steady tightening in France.
The flat tax on crypto gains rose to 31.4% from 30% on Jan. 1. Backers of the wallet rule point to an inquiry that found €3.5 billion in crypto capital gains in 2021, while taxpayers declared just €400 million in holdings that year. Lawmakers rejected an earlier wallet disclosure plan with a €5,000 threshold in April.
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