France Wants to Tax Unrealized Crypto Holdings but Also Hoard 420,000 BTC

Why It Matters

If enacted, the wealth‑tax amendment would increase the cost of holding crypto in France, potentially shrinking domestic market liquidity, while a national Bitcoin reserve would signal a strategic shift toward digital‑gold as part of sovereign wealth, influencing Europe’s broader approach to crypto regulation and state finance.

Summary

France’s National Assembly approved a first‑reading amendment to expand its wealth tax to include digital assets, imposing a flat 1% levy on net wealth over €2 million and taxing crypto holdings even when unrealized. Simultaneously, the right‑wing UDR introduced a bill to create a state‑run Bitcoin reserve of about 420,000 BTC – roughly 2% of the total supply – to be built over seven to eight years using mining, seized coins and other funding streams. The two measures present a paradox: private crypto is treated as unproductive wealth subject to annual valuation, while the state plans to hoard Bitcoin as a sovereign asset. Both proposals are still pending further parliamentary debate, with industry warning that the tax could drive crypto firms abroad and the reserve bill facing uncertain legislative support.