France is weighing some of the toughest crypto tax measures in Europe, and at least one well-known voice in the industry isn’t impressed. Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe went after the pr
France is weighing some of the toughest crypto tax measures in Europe, and at least one well-known voice in the industry isn’t impressed.
Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe went after the proposals in a post on X on Oct. 14.
“The government doesn’t want you to hold your #Crypto as they don’t have control over those assets,” he wrote.
His proposed fix was pure sarcasm.
“Just impose more taxes on it.”
The government doesn't want you to hold your #Crypto as they don't have control over those assets. The best response to that? Just impose more taxes on it. https://t.co/ArdyCq6b92
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) October 14, 2026
Related: Bitcoin drops below $82,000 after U.S. inflation hits 3.7%
The post came days after the National Assembly’s finance committee backed several crypto amendments to France’s 2027 budget.
The National Assembly is France’s lower house of parliament, and the committee is the panel that vets the budget.
The exit tax applies when people who have lived in France for at least six of the past ten years move abroad with securities worth more than €800,000 ($895,600 approximately).
Under the plan, the same threshold would apply to crypto. A household whose combined crypto holdings exceed €800,000, would be subject to the tax. That includes tokens on foreign platforms and in self-custody wallets, where users hold their own coins instead of leaving them with an exchange.
Taxpayers would have to declare self-custody wallets worth a combined €100,000 or more at year-end. Anyone who fails to do so could be fined up to €10,000 ($11,210 approximately).
Stablecoins are digital tokens pegged to a currency such as the euro or the dollar. France generally doesn’t tax swaps between cryptocurrencies today.
There was one win for investors.
Lawmakers voted to let crypto losses be carried forward against gains for up to ten years. None of the measures is law yet.
The committee however rejected the revenue section of the budget bill 31 votes to 3, so the crypto amendments must be tabled again in the full National Assembly.
MPs vote on the revenue section on Oct. 20, and Parliament has until December 10 to pass the budget.
The U.S. has taken a different approach so far, tightening reporting rather than adding taxes.
The IRS treats crypto as property, according to agency guidance. That means swapping one cryptocurrency for another triggers a capital gain or loss, unlike in France.
Crypto held more than a year counts as a long-term asset, and gains are taxed at 0%, 15% or 20% depending on income, the IRS says. Shorter-term gains are taxed as ordinary income.
The bigger change is in what platforms tell the IRS. Since the start of 2025, brokers have reported users’ crypto sales on a new form called the 1099-DA, including the proceeds from each sale.
Basis reporting is optional for coins bought before 2026, so the requirement mainly applies to newer purchases that stay on the same platform.
Both countries want more visibility into crypto holdings. France also wants a bigger share of the gains.
