France's National Assembly Finance Committee adopted Amendment I-CF1826 on October 7, 2026, removing the existing tax deferral on cryptocurrency conversions into MiCA-regulated stablecoins. If enacted as part of the 2027 budget, the measure would apply France's 31.4% flat capital-gains rate to cr...
"Taxing conversions to regulated stablecoins could encourage investors to seek less controlled solutions." — François Volpoet, Country Director, Chainalysis France
France's National Assembly Finance Committee adopted Amendment I-CF1826 on October 7, 2026, removing the existing tax deferral on cryptocurrency conversions into MiCA-regulated stablecoins. If enacted as part of the 2027 budget, the measure would apply France's 31.4% flat capital-gains rate to crypto-to-stablecoin swaps beginning January 1, 2027 — a category of transaction that currently carries no tax liability under French law.
The amendment targets only electronic money tokens (EMTs) as defined under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, meaning USDT, DAI, and PAXG — which lack MiCA authorization — would remain outside the taxable category. Chainalysis warns the asymmetry could push traders toward exactly those unregulated instruments, reducing state visibility over crypto flows without proportionally increasing revenue. A companion amendment, I-CF1822, would extend France's exit-tax framework to unrealized crypto gains above €800,000 when holders relocate abroad.
Both proposals advanced through committee but face an uncertain path. The committee rejected the budget's revenue section by a vote of 31–3 on October 9, forcing the full Assembly to restart debate on the government's original text. The stablecoin measure must survive a floor vote, currently scheduled for October 20, before it becomes law.
The French government submitted its 2027 Finance Bill to the National Assembly on October 1, 2026. The Finance Committee subsequently advanced three crypto-related amendments as part of the budget's revenue section:
| Amendment | Subject | Date Adopted | Effective Date | |-----------|---------|-------------|----------------| | I-CF1826 | Stablecoin conversion tax | Oct. 7, 2026 | Jan. 1, 2027 | | I-CF1822 | Crypto exit tax | Oct. 8, 2026 | Jan. 1, 2027 | | I-CF821 | Self-custody wallet disclosure | Oct. 9, 2026 | Jan. 1, 2027 |
All three were introduced by lawmakers from the Democratic and Republican Left group, led by Deputy Nicolas Sansu. A separate proposal from MP Daniel Labaronne would allow crypto losses to be carried forward for 10 years, an investor-friendly provision included alongside the new obligations.
The committee subsequently rejected the full budget revenue section 31–3. Under French parliamentary procedure, this forces the Assembly to debate the government's original text rather than the committee's amended version. The crypto amendments must be resubmitted during floor debate.
Under current French law, swapping one cryptocurrency for another does not trigger a taxable event. Capital-gains tax at the 31.4% flat rate (known as the prélèvement forfaitaire unique, or PFU) applies only when a holder converts crypto to fiat currency — euros, dollars, or another government-issued currency.
Amendment I-CF1826 modifies Article 150 VH bis of France's General Tax Code. It removes the tax deferral when a seller receives an "electronic money token as defined by Article 3(1)(7) of the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation." In practice, this means:
The 31.4% PFU rate applies to the calculated gain. Implementation specifics — including valuation methodology and reporting procedures — will be determined by decree rather than statute.
The amendment's scope creates an immediate regulatory paradox. It taxes only stablecoins that comply with MiCA — the EU's own regulatory framework designed to bring transparency and consumer protection to crypto markets. Tokens that lack MiCA authorization remain untaxed in crypto-to-crypto swaps.
According to reporting from CoinDesk and multiple outlets, this means:
François Volpoet, Chainalysis's Country Director in France, warned that the proposal could push traders toward DeFi protocols, peer-to-peer venues, offshore exchanges, or non-MiCA tokens that fall outside the taxable category. Chainalysis estimated taxable crypto activity in France at $9.4 billion in 2025. The concern is that a meaningful share of this activity migrates to unmonitored channels, reducing regulatory visibility without generating commensurate revenue.
The paradox extends to the EU's own policy goals. MiCA's grandfathering period for compliant tokens closed on June 30, 2026. Total market capitalization of the eight MiCA-compliant euro stablecoins grew 128% over the prior year, climbing from $295.6 million to $673.9 million. Combined average daily trading volume for these tokens increased 43.1%, from $47.0 million to $67.3 million. Penalizing the instruments that comply with MiCA could slow this growth precisely as the framework reaches maturity.
The stablecoin tax is partly motivated by a documented enforcement gap. A French parliamentary inquiry found €3.5 billion in crypto capital gains during 2021, of which only €400 million was declared — a gap of approximately €3.1 billion. At the 31.4% flat rate, the undeclared gains represent roughly €970 million in foregone revenue for that single year.
France currently counts approximately 5.5 million crypto holders, representing about 11% of the adult population according to the ADAN-IPSOS 2026 Barometer. This figure has grown only modestly from 10% in 2025. France lags behind the Netherlands (20%) and Germany (17%) in European crypto adoption.
Between July 2024 and June 2025, France received approximately $180.1 billion in crypto value according to Chainalysis data. The stablecoin tax targets only a subset of these flows, but the government views closing the conversion loophole as a step toward capturing revenue from the broader ecosystem.
Amendment I-CF821: Self-Custody Wallet Disclosure
Advanced on October 9, 2026, this amendment requires French taxpayers to declare self-custodied crypto wallets valued at €100,000 or more as of December 31 each year. Non-compliance carries fines up to €10,000. The amendment was sponsored by Deputies Charles de Courson, Jean-Pierre Bataille, and Michel Castellani from the LIOT parliamentary group.
This is France's second attempt at wallet disclosure requirements. In April 2026, lawmakers rejected a proposal setting the threshold at €5,000 — a figure widely viewed as too low. The €100,000 threshold represents a compromise intended to target high-value holders while avoiding blanket surveillance of smaller retail accounts.
Amendment I-CF1822: Crypto Exit Tax
This amendment creates Article 167 ter of the General Tax Code, extending France's existing exit-tax framework to cryptocurrency. It applies to taxpayers who were resident in France for at least six of the ten years prior to relocating their tax residence abroad. The €800,000 threshold applies to total crypto holdings, including unrealized gains. The framework includes valuation, reporting, payment-deferral, and enforcement provisions.
The French proposal arrives as the European stablecoin market undergoes structural change under MiCA. Key data points:
The irony of the French proposal is that it disproportionately affects the MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin ecosystem that EU regulators spent years building. A user swapping ETH for EURC on a regulated French exchange would owe 31.4% tax on any gain. The same user swapping ETH for USDT on a DeFi protocol would owe nothing until converting to fiat — a step that many never take.
Chainalysis's Volpoet stated that the measure could encourage traders to "seek less controlled solutions," including offshore platforms and decentralized protocols. The firm's position carries weight in French policy circles — Chainalysis provides blockchain analytics to multiple EU law enforcement agencies and has contracts with France's financial intelligence unit.
The broader French crypto industry has raised concerns about competitive positioning. France has invested in becoming a European crypto hub — it was among the first EU states to implement MiCA's transitional provisions and has licensed several major exchanges. The ADAN (Association for the Development of Digital Assets), France's main industry body, has not publicly endorsed the amendments.
Globally, the proposal stands out as an outlier. No other G7 economy currently taxes crypto-to-stablecoin conversions as a separate taxable event. The U.S. treats stablecoin swaps as taxable under its broader property-based framework, but France's targeted approach — taxing only MiCA-regulated stablecoins — has no direct precedent.
The path to enactment remains uncertain. Key dates and obstacles:
The loss carryforward provision (10-year window for crypto losses) is viewed as a potential sweetener to build legislative support for the less popular conversion tax.
France's stablecoin tax proposal attempts to close a documented revenue gap by treating regulated stablecoins as functionally equivalent to fiat for tax purposes. The logic has surface appeal: if a MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin is redeemable 1:1 for euros, a conversion into that token crystallizes economic value in the same way a fiat off-ramp does.
The execution, however, creates a two-tier system that penalizes compliance. Traders using MiCA-authorized tokens on licensed exchanges face a 31.4% levy. Those using unregulated alternatives face nothing until they convert to fiat — a step that many never take. The proposal risks accelerating the offshore migration it seeks to prevent, while undermining the MiCA framework France helped build.
The October 20 floor vote will determine whether the amendment survives. Given the committee's 31–3 rejection of the revenue section, the proposal's legislative future is uncertain at best.