Crypto: Chainalysis Fears France’s 31.4% Tax Could Drive Investors Away

Chainalysis warns France. Its country director, François Volpoet, believes that the project to tax crypto conversions into regulated stablecoins could push investors towards less monitored foreign platforms. The proposed rate reaches 31.4% on the capital gains concerned. A measure which risks, according to him, complicating the monitoring of transactions rather than strengthening tax revenues.

Chainalysis fears a crypto trader exodus

François Volpoet is not convinced by the new French tax direction. 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 deputies approved the taxation of stablecoins in commission. The proposal plans to subject certain conversions of cryptocurrencies into 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 might have to pay tax when converting their holdings into regulated stablecoins, even without withdrawing their funds into euros. The rate reaches 31.4%. For Chainalysis, the risk goes beyond just an increased 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. However, some avoid the control obligations imposed on European intermediaries. Crypto activity could thus continue but become harder to monitor for French authorities.

Regulated stablecoins risk being penalized

The French project presents an important peculiarity. It targets electronic money tokens defined by MiCA, the European regulation on crypto-asset markets. These stablecoins are precisely those the European Union seeks to regulate. Their issuers must meet requirements regarding reserves, holder reimbursement, and transparency. Platforms offering 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 an asset category which Europe is precisely encouraging to regulate.

For an active investor, the difference matters. Stablecoins are commonly used to temporarily hold a portfolio’s value, move liquidity between platforms, or wait for a new market opportunity.

A trader can thus sell bitcoin against a stablecoin without seeking to permanently exit the crypto market. If this operation becomes taxable, they will have to include this potential charge in their portfolio management.

Stablecoins not covered by the provision could then seem more attractive. Offshore platforms as well. However, nothing guarantees that transferring to a foreign platform legally allows escaping French tax. Tax obligations depend notably on the taxpayer’s residence and the nature of the operations performed.

France could lose visibility over transactions

The warning from Chainalysis comes as France seeks to better identify taxable operations on digital assets. In September, the company specializing in blockchain analysis had already estimated crypto activity potentially taxable in France in 2025 at 9.4 billion dollars.

This amount did not represent lost tax revenues nor concealed gains. However, it gave an idea of the scale of transactions involved in tax debates. Since then, discussions have accelerated. The European DAC8 directive will strengthen the exchange of tax information on crypto-assets. Affected platforms will have to provide more data on their users’ operations.

The logic is based on better identification of taxpayers and their transactions. François Volpoet raises a different risk: if investors leave regulated intermediaries, part of this activity could become less visible.

Transactions recorded on a public blockchain remain technically traceable. However, attributing them to a person and linking them with tax information can become more difficult without platform data. The alert does not mean that a French trader exodus has already started. No verified figures currently allow measuring its extent in reaction to this proposal. And the text is not yet a law. France must therefore still balance its goal of taxing crypto capital gains and the possible effects on circuits used by investors. Chainalysis chose to warn the authorities before the final adoption of the measure.

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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.