France’s 31.4% stablecoin tax plot twist: A one-vote win, one long road to law

Official voting results from the National Assembly of France show that amendment I-3898 was approved on October 16 by 38 votes to 37, with 25 abstentions. The proposal would make conversions from cryptocurrencies into qualifying stablecoins subject to a 31.4% capital gains tax on qualifying gains.

The one-vote approval covered the amendment, not the entire budget for 2027, and the proposal must complete additional parliamentary procedures before becoming law. If Parliament approves the budget, the changes would take effect on January 1, 2027.

Under current French tax rules, trading from one cryptocurrency to another without receiving or giving cash is not taxed. The amendment would end that treatment for electronic money tokens covered by Europe’s MiCA regulation, potentially making investors liable for tax on qualifying gains without converting their investments into euros or cashing out.

The proposal also replaces portfolio-wide gain calculations with asset costs and weighted-average pricing for identical cryptocurrencies. The measure had previously advanced through the finance committee before the October 16 vote.