France weighs 31.4% tax on EU-regulated stablecoin swaps
French lawmakers are debating a plan to tax crypto-to-stablecoin swaps at the 31.4% capital gains rate from 1 January 2027, a move Chainalysis warns could push traders to unregulated tokens.
Why it matters: The proposal would make a routine crypto-to-stablecoin swap a taxable event in France, potentially steering traders toward stablecoins outside EU rules.
Key points
- A second amendment backed on 9 Oct would require taxpayers to declare self-hosted wallets holding at least €100,000 ($116,000), with fines up to $11,600.
- The finance committee rejected the 2027 budget's revenue section 31-3, so the crypto amendments must return to the full National Assembly, which is due to vote on 20 Oct.
France's proposed 31.4% tax on regulated stablecoin swaps could push crypto traders offshore, CoinDesk reports. Lawmakers are considering taxing exchanges of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin into stablecoins classed as electronic money tokens under the EU's MiCA regulation at the country's 31.4% capital gains rate, starting 1 January 2027.
The measure is an amendment adopted by the National Assembly's finance committee on 7 October, part of France's 2027 budget. Because the proposal targets only EU-regulated stablecoins, traders could favour alternatives outside that category.
Francois Volpoet, Chainalysis' CEO for France, told CoinDesk the plan could undermine efforts to bring crypto activity into the regulated system, asking whether authorities want more declarations or a higher rate on a shrinking base. He said regulated stablecoin transactions are easier to monitor than DeFi trades or self-hosted wallets.
Volpoet cited rising physical attacks on crypto holders in France, which accounted for 33 of 52 global incidents as of July. Other amendments would extend the exit tax to crypto holdings worth about $900,000 and let losses be carried forward for 10 years. The finance committee rejected the budget's revenue section 31-3, so the amendments must return to the full National Assembly, scheduled to vote on 20 October. None has become law.
What to watch: The full National Assembly is scheduled to vote on the budget's revenue section on 20 October, with lawmakers having until 10 December to pass the 2027 budget.
Live updates on NewsFeeds:StablecoinsDesk editor: Keshav Aggarwal (accountable for this page; this summary was not edited by hand)
How this was produced: an AI model wrote this summary of CoinDesk’s report, which we credit and link above. Read our Editorial and AI policy. Spotted a mistake? See Corrections.
Not investment advice. Read the risk disclaimer.