Chainalysis warns France. Its general director in the country, François Volpoet, believes that the plan to tax crypto conversions into regulated stablecoins could push investors towards less monitored foreign platforms. The envisaged rate reaches 31.4% on the capital gains concerned. A measure which, according to him, risks complicating the monitoring of transactions rather than strengthening tax revenues.
In brief
- Chainalysis fears a shift in crypto transactions to offshore circuits.
- The proposed 31.4% tax relates to conversions to certain regulated stablecoins.
- The project could disadvantage players complying with the European MiCA regulation.
Chainalysis fears a flight of crypto traders
François Volpoet is not convinced by the new French tax orientation. The head of Chainalysis in France warns that taxing conversions to regulated stablecoins could encourage investors to seek less controlled solutions.
His warning comes a few days after MPs approved the taxation of stablecoins in committee. The proposal plans to subject certain conversions of cryptocurrencies to stablecoins to capital gains tax. Until now, these exchanges between digital assets generally did not trigger immediate taxation for individuals.
With this reform, a trader making profits on bitcoin could have to pay tax when converting their holdings into regulated stablecoins, even without withdrawing their funds in euros. The rate reaches 31.4%. For Chainalysis, the risk goes beyond simply increasing the tax bill. Investors could favor platforms located outside the European Union, decentralized protocols or other digital assets to continue their operations.
These solutions are not necessarily illegal. Some, however, escape the control obligations imposed on European intermediaries. Crypto activity could thus continue, but become more difficult for the French authorities to monitor.
Regulated stablecoins risk being penalized
The French project presents an important particularity. It targets electronic money tokens defined by MiCA, the European regulation on crypto-asset markets. These stablecoins are precisely those that the European Union seeks to regulate. Their issuers must comply with requirements regarding reserves, reimbursement of holders and transparency. The platforms that offer them are also subject to various regulatory obligations.
In October, ESMA further increased pressure on platforms regarding non-compliant stablecoins. France could therefore introduce less favorable taxation on a category of assets whose regulation Europe encourages.
For an active investor, the difference matters. Stablecoins are commonly used to temporarily hold the value of a portfolio, move liquidity between platforms, or wait for a new market opportunity.
A trader can thus sell bitcoin for a stablecoin without trying to permanently exit the crypto market. If this transaction becomes taxable, he will have to integrate this potential charge into his portfolio management.
Stablecoins not covered by the provision could then appear more attractive. Offshore platforms too. However, there is no guarantee that a transfer to a foreign platform will legally avoid French tax. Tax obligations depend in particular on the residence of the taxpayer and the nature of the transactions carried out.
France could lose visibility on transactions
Chainalysis’ warning comes as France seeks to better identify taxable transactions in digital assets. In September, the company specializing in blockchain analysis had already estimated potentially taxable crypto activity in France in 2025 at $9.4 billion.
This amount represented neither lost tax revenue nor hidden gains. It nevertheless gave an idea of the scale of the transactions concerned by the tax debates. Since then, discussions have accelerated. The European directive DAC8 must strengthen the exchange of tax information on crypto-assets. The platforms concerned will have to transmit more data on the operations of their users.
The logic is based on better identification of taxpayers and their transactions. François Volpoet raises a different risk: if investors leave regulated intermediaries, some of this activity could become less visible.
Transactions recorded on a public blockchain remain technically traceable. On the other hand, their attribution to a person and their reconciliation with tax information can become more difficult without platform data. The alert does not mean that an exodus of French traders has already begun. No verified figures currently make it possible to measure the extent of the reaction to this proposal. And the text is not yet a law. France must therefore still arbitrate between its objective of taxing crypto capital gains and the possible effects on the circuits used by investors. Chainalysis chose to notify the public authorities before the final adoption of the measure.
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