France passes 31% capital gains tax on stablecoin trades

France's parliament has approved a vote to make swaps from cryptocurrencies into MiCA-regulated stablecoins a taxable event at the country's 31.4% capital gains rate starting Jan. 1, 2027. Amendment I-3898 removes the existing tax deferral for crypto-to-crypto trades once the destination is an EU-regulated electronic-money token, a category that previously escaped the levy.

• The amendment was adopted by the National Assembly's finance committee on Oct. 7 and cleared a full Assembly vote on Oct. 20, passing narrowly.
• The measure still requires Senate approval and budget reconciliation before it becomes law, so nothing is settled yet.
• Chainalysis France CEO François Volpoet has warned the measure could push traders toward unmonitored offshore, DeFi or self-hosted channels, shrinking rather than growing the taxed base.
• Related amendments would require disclosure of self-hosted wallets holding at least €100,000, extend the exit tax to large crypto holdings and allow 10-year loss carry-forwards.