France's lower house votes to tax crypto-to-stablecoin swaps at 31.4% from 2027, with the final budget votes still to come

French crypto traders who park profits in dollar stablecoins without cashing out to euros may soon owe tax on the move. The National Assembly, France's lower house, adopted Amendment I-3898 to the 2027 finance bill on Friday, according to Cointribune and TokenPost. The amendment rewrites article 150 VH bis of the tax code and strips out the deferral for exchanges into electronic money tokens as defined by MiCA, the EU's crypto regulation. Neither outlet reported a vote count.

The text, tabled on October 10 by a group of deputies led by Nicolas Sansu, argues that converting crypto into fiat-backed stablecoins currently escapes tax through a gap in the law, and that stablecoins are often used as ordinary investment vehicles. Gains would be taxed at France's standard 31.4% flat rate on private investors' capital gains, TokenPost said, and the change would apply to disposals and exchanges from January 1, 2027, with transitional options for assets bought earlier.

Cointribune noted that USDC and EURC would be caught while USDT, which is not a MiCA-regulated token, would stay outside the scheme, citing an analysis relayed by CoinDesk. CoinDesk reported on Tuesday that Chainalysis had warned the proposal could push French traders to offshore platforms.

The measure still has several hurdles. A solemn vote on the revenue part of the budget is scheduled for October 20, examination of the full text resumes on November 17, and the Senate must review it, Cointribune said. TokenPost added that the Assembly rejected a separate amendment that would have let crypto losses be carried forward for ten years, while proposals for an exit tax on crypto holdings above 800,000 euros and year-end reporting of holdings above 100,000 euros are still pending.