France Stuns Europe: Lawmakers Adopt Bitcoin and Ban Digital Euro

France has taken a bold step that could reshape Europe’s monetary ￰2￱ in the National Assembly have adopted a resolution opposing the introduction of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) proposed digital euro while endorsing Bitcoin and the use of euro-denominated stablecoins as ￰3￱ proposal, introduced on October 22, 2025, by Éric Ciotti and members of the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR), calls on the French government to reject the European Commission’s draft regulation establishing a digital euro.) pose a threat to privacy and economic ￰4￱ described the move as a step toward protecting “fundamental individual rights” and maintaining monetary sovereignty in an increasingly digital ￰5￱ lawmakers warned that a centrally managed network would allow authorities to track and potentially freeze citizens’ ￰6￱ explanatory memorandum compared the ECB’s project to China’s digital yuan , suggesting that similar centralized oversight could “pose a major threat to fundamental individual freedoms.” The ECB is currently in the preparation phase of the digital euro , which began in November 2023 and is expected to conclude by the end of ￰7￱ currency could enter circulation around 2029, according to ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone .

A digital euro could launch in 2029, says ECB board member Piero Cipollone, citing growing momentum and progress in member-state talks. #digitaleuro #ECB ￰0￱ — ￰8￱ (@cryptonews) September 24, 2025 Lawmakers also warned that adopting a digital euro could destabilize Europe’s banking system by allowing users to move deposits directly to the ECB, potentially triggering a “bank run” and concentrating financial power within a single ￰9￱ resolution stated that “such a concentration of power would be harmful to economic freedom” and that it is “not the role of the ECB to act as a commercial bank.” Instead, the French proposal lays out a sweeping pro-crypto agenda centered on three key areas: creating a national Bitcoin reserve, promoting euro-denominated stablecoins, and supporting domestic crypto industry ￰10￱ the plan, France would establish a public administrative body to manage a strategic Bitcoin reserve equivalent to 2% of the total Bitcoin supply, roughly 420,000 BTC, to be accumulated over seven to eight ￰11￱ initiative aims to create a “national digital gold” reserve to diversify France’s foreign exchange holdings and strengthen financial ￰12￱ would come from surplus energy used for public mining, the retention of Bitcoin seized in legal cases, and the allocation of a portion of savings from Livret A and LDDS schemes toward daily BTC ￰13￱ proposal also introduces the possibility of allowing tax payments in Bitcoin, subject to constitutional ￰14￱ Calls on Europe to Break Dependence on ￰15￱ Stablecoins Alongside Bitcoin, the motion seeks to advance the use of euro-denominated stablecoins as an alternative to U.

S. dollar-backed tokens that dominate global ￰16￱ document criticizes the ECB’s restrictive stance on euro stablecoins and urges the European Commission to revise the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation to make it easier for European banks and companies to issue ￰17￱ International Monetary Fund data, the report notes that 91% of global stablecoin capitalization, around $210 billion out of $230 billion, is denominated in U. S. dollars, primarily through Tether (USDT) and Circle’s USD Coin (USDC).) October 9, 2025 Speaking at the Paris Fintech Forum earlier this month, he said European banks should focus on developing euro-denominated stablecoins rather than relying solely on dollar-based ￰18￱ UDR’s resolution also proposes easing Basel prudential rules, which currently classify some crypto-backed loans as high-risk with capital requirements of up to 1,250%.

Lawmakers argue this makes such loans unattractive for banks and call for a “targeted deviation” from the Basel standard to encourage crypto-collateralized ￰19￱ Strengthens Its Crypto Framework Ahead of MiCA Implementation in 2026 The proposal arrives at a pivotal time for France’s crypto ￰20￱ country’s financial regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), recently authorized BPCE’s subsidiary , Hexarq, to offer crypto custody and trading services, marking another major banking institution entering the ￰21￱ has also approved the Lightning Stock Exchange (Lise) , its first fully tokenized equity platform operating under the EU’s Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Pilot Regime, showing growing national interest in blockchain-based financial ￰22￱ just approved Lise Exchange, a tokenized stock exchange that aims to redefine how IPOs work for SMEs. #France #IPO #LiseExchange ￰1￱ — ￰23￱ (@cryptonews) October 16, 2025 At the same time, French regulators have been intensifying scrutiny of crypto ￰24￱ prudential supervision authority, ACPR, has conducted anti-money laundering inspections on dozens of firms , including Binance and Coinhouse, as part of preparations for full implementation of the MiCA framework across the European Union by 2026.

Meanwhile, Europe’s crypto market continues to expand ￰25￱ data shows France processed $180 billion in crypto transactions between July 2024 and June 2025, placing it among the region’s most active markets, behind Germany and the United Kingdom.