Lawmakers in France have voted to change how crypto trades are taxed. On October 20, 2026, the French National Assembly passed a very close vote. By a tiny margin of 38 votes to 37, lawmakers approved a plan to tax crypto trades. The new tax will hit people who trade volatile coins for digital stablecoins. If the bill becomes final law, trades will face a 31.4 percent tax rate.
For many years, France had a friendly tax policy for crypto traders. Under the old rules, people only paid taxes when they traded crypto for normal cash, like euros. Swapping one digital token for another digital token did not trigger any tax bill. This allowed traders to move their money into digital stablecoins during market drops. They did not have to pay taxes right away. A stablecoin is a digital coin tied to normal money, like the dollar or euro.
The new proposal changes that rule completely. Lawmakers passed an amendment to the 2027 national budget. The measure is known as amendment I-3898. Under the new plan, swapping crypto into regulated stablecoins will count as a taxable event. The government says this move will help raise fresh money for the national budget. France faces rising public debt. Leaders want new ways to bring in cash for hospitals and schools.
However, the vote has caused big anger in the European crypto community. Critics point out a strange problem with the new law. The tax specifically targets stablecoins that follow official European Union rules. The EU recently created a big crypto framework called MiCA. Under MiCA, stablecoin firms must get official bank licenses. But the French tax bill only mentions regulated tokens. Unregulated tokens issued outside Europe might escape the tax entirely.
Crypto leaders say this plan punishes companies that follow the law. It rewards offshore platforms that ignore European rules. Many traders might choose to keep their money in unregulated foreign coins to avoid the tax. French industry groups warned that the tax could drive digital asset startups out of Paris. France has worked hard in recent years to become a top European tech hub. Many crypto firms opened offices in Paris because the rules were clear and fair.
Pro-tech lawmakers voted against the tax. They argued that chasing small gains will harm big investments. They warned that young software builders will pack their bags and move to London or Dubai. Other European countries like Germany and Portugal do not tax stablecoin swaps. If France stands alone, French investors could face huge bookkeeping headaches.
Tax experts explain that the 31.4 percent rate includes a 30 percent flat tax plus extra social charges. Calculating taxes on dozens of small crypto swaps would be very difficult for casual hobbyists. Every trade between digital tokens would require complex records.
The vote was very close, with only 75 lawmakers voting in total. About 25 lawmakers chose to abstain, and many seats were empty during the late-night debate. Because the vote was so close, the tax is not yet set in stone. The bill must go through more debates and votes in the French parliament before it becomes official law. The government pushed the next major vote on the budget to early November.
Everyday crypto users in France are watching the debate with great care. If the tax passes into final law, anyone who uses stablecoins to protect their savings will have to track every trade. They will have to pay high tax rates on paper gains even if they never cash out into euros. French crypto associations plan to lobby lawmakers before the November vote to remove the tax from the final budget.