French lawmakers are considering expanding the country's 31.4% crypto capital gains tax to cover swaps into stablecoins regulated under the European Union's MiCA framework, a proposal Chainalysis warns could drive investors toward less transparent, unregulated tokens.
The measure is part of France's 2027 budget, which the National Assembly began debating last week and must pass by Dec. 10. An amendment adopted by the 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 MiCA, which came into full force on July 1. Swapping one crypto for another currently does not trigger capital gains tax in France, and the flat 31.4% rate otherwise applies only when investors cash out or spend their holdings. Under the proposal, swaps into certain EU-regulated stablecoins would be taxed starting Jan. 1, 2027.
Francois Volpoet, Chainalysis' CEO for France, said the measure could undermine efforts to bring more crypto transactions into the regulated financial system. "Do we want more taxpayers to declare their assets, or a higher tax rate applied to a base that is increasingly evaded?" Volpoet said in an email to CoinDesk, noting that regulated stablecoin transactions are easier for authorities to monitor than trades through DeFi platforms or self-hosted wallets.
