France’s legislators introduced a new proposal to expand its 31.4% crypto capital gains tax to include trades involving European Union (EU)-regulated stablecoins, a move Chanalysis warns could drive investors toward stablecoins outside the bloc’s rules.
The proposal is part of France's 2027 budget, which lawmakers began debating last week in the National Assembly and have until Dec. 10 to pass.
An amendment adopted by the National Assembly’s finance committee on Oct. 7 would make it a taxable event when investors exchange cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin for stablecoins classified as electronic money tokens under the EU’s MiCA regulation, which came into full force on July 1.
Swapping one crypto for another generally does not trigger capital gains tax in France. The proposed changes would tax swaps into certain EU-regulated stablecoins starting Jan. 1, 2027. France currently applies a 31.4% flat tax to crypto gains when investors cash out or spend their holdings.
The distinction is critical because the proposal targets a category of stablecoins subject to EU rules, potentially incentivizing traders to use alternatives outside that category.
Francois Volpoet, Chainalysis’ CEO for France, warned that the measure could undermine efforts to bring more crypto transactions into the regulated financial system.
" Volpoet said in an email to CoinDesk. He said authorities can more easily monitor regulated stablecoin transactions than trades made through decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms or self-hosted wallets.
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