France's parliament approves 31.4% capital gains tax on crypto-to-stablecoin swaps

France's National Assembly adopted Amendment I-3898 on October 16, 2026, by 38 votes to 37, imposing a 31.4% capital gains tax rate on crypto-to-stablecoin swaps effective January 1, 2027. The amendment removes tax deferral for swaps into MiCA e-money tokens while preserving it for other crypto-to-crypto exchanges. The government opposed the measure, with minister David Amiel acknowledging the scope of covered tokens still needed work.

Amendment I-3898 provisions

• ▪Amendment I-3898 was tabled on October 10, 2026, by Nicolas Sansu and 16 other deputies of the Democratic and Republican Left group
• ▪French tax law under article 150 VH bis of the general tax code has since 2019 allowed individuals to exchange one crypto-asset for another without paying tax until selling for euros or paying for goods and services
• ▪France's Amendment I-3898 to the 2027 budget bill applies a 31.4% tax rate to crypto-to-stablecoin swaps, consisting of 12.8% income tax and 18.6% social charges
• ▪France's Amendment I-3898 to the 2027 budget bill preserves tax deferral for swaps from bitcoin into ether or into most tokens outside the MiCA e-money token definition
• ▪France's Amendment I-3898 to the 2027 budget bill removes tax deferral for swaps into e-money tokens as defined by MiCA article 3(1)(7), effective January 1, 2027
• ▪Amendment I-3898 to France's 2027 budget bill was adopted by the National Assembly on October 16, 2026, by 38 votes to 37 with 25 abstentions

MiCA stablecoin classification

• ▪MiCA defines an e-money token as a crypto-asset that keeps a stable value by referencing the value of one official currency
• ▪MiCA created two families of stablecoin: e-money tokens that reference one currency and asset-referenced tokens that reference a basket or commodity
• ▪Société Générale's crypto arm SG-Forge issues euro token EURCV and dollar token USDCV as MiCA e-money tokens under ACPR authorization
• ▪The European Union's DAC8 reporting rules require platforms to collect customer data from January 2026
• ▪Circle Internet Financial Europe, which issues USDC in the European Union, is supervised by France's ACPR banking supervisor
• ▪The European Banking Authority classified USDC as significant on October 14, 2026, making it the first of 45 notified e-money tokens to reach that tier

Tax incentive distortions

• ▪Public accounts minister David Amiel acknowledged in the October 16, 2026 debate that the scope of tokens covered by France's Amendment I-3898 to the 2027 budget bill still needed work
• ▪Gold-backed tokens such as PAXG and decentralised dollar tokens such as DAI may fall outside Amendment I-3898's tax scope, creating a tax advantage over MiCA-licensed stablecoins
• ▪French commentators are divided on whether Tether's USDT would be caught by Amendment I-3898's tax provisions
• ▪France's Amendment I-3898 to the 2027 budget bill creates an incentive for French investors to avoid MiCA-licensed stablecoins like USDC and EURC and choose instruments outside the e-money token definition to defer tax

Portfolio calculation methodology change

• ▪Amendment I-3898 allows French crypto holders to either document the real cost of each asset or spread total portfolio cost at December 31, 2026, across holdings in proportion to value, with the choice being irrevocable
• ▪Under France's current portfolio formula, a taxable gain is calculated as sale price minus total acquisition cost of the whole portfolio multiplied by the share of the portfolio being sold
• ▪Amendment I-3898 replaces France's portfolio formula for calculating crypto gains with a method that uses sale price minus the cost of assets actually sold
• ▪Under Amendment I-3898's new calculation method, selling one bitcoin bought at 30,000 euros for 60,000 euros produces a taxable gain of 30,000 euros, compared to 7,500 euros under the current formula

Legislative survival prospects

• ▪France's 2025 and 2026 budgets were both adopted using article 49.3 of the Constitution, which allows the government to adopt the budget without a vote while keeping only accepted amendments
• ▪A solemn vote on the revenue half of France's 2027 budget bill is scheduled for October 20, 2026
• ▪France's National Assembly has 577 seats, with 100 members participating in the October 16, 2026 vote on Amendment I-3898
• ▪In November 2024, France's National Assembly rejected the revenue part of the 2025 budget by 362 votes to 192, causing all deputies' amendments to fall
• ▪The French government opposed France's Amendment I-3898 to the 2027 budget bill during the October 16, 2026 vote

Perspective of French crypto investors and market participants

• ▪France's Amendment I-3898 to the 2027 budget bill creates an incentive for French investors to avoid MiCA-licensed stablecoins like USDC and EURC and choose instruments outside the e-money token definition to defer tax
• ▪Gold-backed tokens such as PAXG and decentralised dollar tokens such as DAI may fall outside Amendment I-3898's tax scope, creating a tax advantage over MiCA-licensed stablecoins

Perspective of French government

• ▪The French government opposed France's Amendment I-3898 to the 2027 budget bill during the October 16, 2026 vote
• ▪Public accounts minister David Amiel acknowledged in the October 16, 2026 debate that the scope of tokens covered by France's Amendment I-3898 to the 2027 budget bill still needed work