A bill proposes to integrate Bitcoin into French strategic reserves

What if the future of monetary reserves no longer rested on gold or fiat currencies, but on bitcoin? In France, a bill proposed by the UDR party envisages the creation of a national reserve of 420,000 BTC. An unprecedented initiative which, although supported by a minority parliamentary group, calls into question the foundations of monetary sovereignty. At a time when States are fumbling with cryptos, this project is relaunching a major strategic debate.

A national reserve of 420,000 bitcoins: the UDR’s accepted bet

In a legislative text, the UDR party, chaired by Éric Ciotti, intends to make France a pioneer in terms of digital monetary sovereignty, while the institutional rush towards bitcoin is in full swing.

The project aims to constitute a national strategic reserve of 420,000 bitcoins, or 2% of the total supply of BTC in circulation, and aims to “position France as a pro-Bitcoin European institutional hub”.

To make this initiative a reality, the UDR provides for the creation of a public administrative establishment (EPA) responsible for piloting operations over a period of 7 to 8 years.

THE operational modalities of this accumulation are set out in detail in the proposed law:

• The daily amount invested: 15 million euros, dedicated exclusively to the purchase of BTC;

• The annual acquisition objective: approximately 55,000 BTC per year;

• Financing via public savings, without monetary issue or additional debt;

• Institutional supervision by an independent public body, guaranteeing the transparency of operations.

This project intends to respond to a need for diversification of national reserves, historically concentrated on fiat currencies such as the euro or the dollar. By introducing bitcoin into the reserve strategy, the UDR defends a global reading of sovereignty, based on assets not issued by States and resilient in the face of geopolitical or monetary pressures.

For the first time in France, a parliamentary text therefore proposes to formally integrate a native blockchain asset into the strategic heritage of the State.

A project with multiple ramifications

The text does not just consider purchasing BTC on the markets. It also proposes a strategy of organic accumulation, via public bitcoin mining, relying on the surplus production of nuclear and hydraulic energy available in the territory.

The ambition is to make the operation economically viable, even virtuous, by mobilizing low-carbon and already existing energy. Added to this is the integration of bitcoins seized during legal proceedings into the reserve, a practice already partially implemented in several countries, including France. Bitcoins resulting from judicial seizures, particularly in cases linked to the dark web, can be redirected to the national reserve.

Beyond bitcoin, the legislative project proposes measures to encourage the use of euro stablecoins, in particular via a tax exemption of €200 on payments, and by authorizing the payment of certain taxes in cryptos.

The text goes so far as to explicitly reject central bank digital currencies (MNBC), described as “threat to individual financial freedoms”and on the contrary proposes tax and regulatory relief for issuers of stablecoins in Europe. At the same time, he is considering the possibility of using bitcoin as collateral in specific bank loans.

This orientation marks an attempt at strategic repositioning of France in the European digital monetary landscape. By directly opposing MNBCs, promoted by the ECB, while defending an alternative model based on decentralized cryptos, the text reflects a growing divide between the proponents of reinforced state control and the supporters of decentralized digital sovereignty. If the chances of adoption remain limited in the short term, with the UDR having only 16 deputies out of 577, this initiative could open the way to parliamentary debates and force the major parties to take a position on an increasingly strategic issue.