French Plan to Tax Regulated Stablecoin Swaps Could Push Crypto Traders Offshore

French lawmakers are considering extending the country’s 31.4% crypto capital gains tax to swaps into stablecoins regulated under the EU’s MiCA framework, starting Jan. 1, 2027. An amendment adopted by the National Assembly’s finance committee on Oct. 7 would make it a taxable event when investors trade assets like bitcoin for stablecoins classed as electronic money tokens. Today, swapping one crypto for another generally triggers no tax in France, and the flat rate applies only when people cash out or spend.

The proposal sits inside the 2027 budget, which lawmakers must pass by Dec. 10. The finance committee later rejected the budget’s revenue section by 31 votes to 3, so the crypto amendments must return for debate in the full Assembly, with a vote on the revenue section set for Oct. 20. None of the measures are law yet.

Chainalysis Warning on Offshore Stablecoins

Francois Volpoet, Chainalysis’ CEO for France, warns that taxing only EU-regulated stablecoins could steer traders toward alternatives outside the bloc’s rules. He asks whether authorities want more taxpayers declaring assets or a higher rate on a base that is increasingly evaded, noting that regulated stablecoin flows are easier to monitor than DeFi or self hosted wallets. He also raised security worries over a separate amendment backed on Oct. 9, which would force taxpayers to declare self-hosted wallets holding at least €100,000, with fines up to $11,600. As of July, France accounted for 33 of the 52 global physical attacks on crypto holders, or 63.5%.

Exit Tax, Loss Carry Forward and Greece

Lawmakers also backed extending the exit tax to crypto holdings worth roughly $900,000, and a plan letting investors carry crypto losses forward for up to 10 years. Meanwhile, Greece is preparing a 10% crypto capital gains tax, while Germany, France and Italy are setting or planning rates above 25%.