Chainalysis warns French crypto traders may move abroad over 31.4% tax

Chainalysis's France director François Volpoet says a proposed 31.4% tax on converting crypto into regulated stablecoins could drive investors to less supervised foreign platforms. The measure would tax gains when traders swap assets like bitcoin for stablecoins, even without cashing out to euros. Chainalysis argues this could make crypto activity harder for French authorities to monitor rather than increase tax revenue.

French lawmakers advanced the measure in committee, extending capital-gains treatment to certain crypto-to-stablecoin swaps. Previously, such exchanges between digital assets usually did not trigger immediate tax for individuals. The proposal specifically covers e-money tokens defined under MiCA, the EU crypto-asset rulebook, whose issuers face reserve, redemption and transparency duties. In October, ESMA increased scrutiny of platforms handling non-compliant stablecoins.

Stablecoins often let traders park portfolio value, shift liquidity across venues, or await market opportunities. Taxing bitcoin-to-stablecoin conversions could therefore alter active investors' calculations. Chainalysis warns that activity might migrate to EU-external platforms, decentralized protocols, or other digital assets, making French oversight harder. The concern is not necessarily illegality; some routes simply fall outside European intermediary controls.