France is making a fresh bid to become Europe’s leading destination for cryptocurrency businesses. As major US crypto bills face delays, French lawmaker Paul Midy is advancing a proposal designed to make the country’s rules clearer, its tax treatment more practical and its companies safer. The plan builds on France’s early regulatory work under the PACTE Act and the EU-wide framework established by MiCA, while addressing everyday obstacles faced by developers, founders and investors.
Filed in the National Assembly on 23 July 2026, the bill contains six targeted measures rather than a wholesale rewrite of the rules. It would clarify when some contributors to decentralised projects pay tax, allow digital-asset losses to be carried forward for longer, and make it easier for certain French companies to take part in Europe’s DLT Pilot Regime. It also responds to concerns about threats against entrepreneurs by proposing stronger privacy and protection measures. For newcomers, the central idea is straightforward: thoughtful regulation can support innovation when it gives businesses a stable foundation to build on.
In brief
- France wants European leadership in crypto-assets, building on its existing regulatory experience.
- Paul Midy’s proposal, filed in July 2026, focuses on six practical changes to taxation, payments, business security and tokenisation.
- The bill is still a proposal: its impact depends on parliamentary support and the legislative timetable.
- Its wider ambition is to make France a more attractive crypto hub without abandoning investor protection.
France’s crypto-asset ambitions meet a changing regulatory landscape
France’s push comes as the US legislative outlook has fallen short of expectations among crypto businesses. The Genius Act, focused on stablecoins, advanced, but other prominent initiatives—including the Clarity Act and a proposed tax overhaul—remained stalled in Congress according to the context surrounding Midy’s proposal. That delay creates an opportunity for European countries to compete for companies seeking predictable rules.
Midy frames the French effort as a continuation of the country’s early work on digital assets. The 2019 PACTE Act established a framework for digital asset service providers and token offerings, followed by France’s PSAN registration system and the EU’s MiCA-era authorisation framework. Together, these milestones show how regulation can provide a clearer route to market rather than simply acting as a barrier.
Why European leadership depends on clear rules
For a startup, uncertainty can be as costly as a restrictive rule. A French company developing a tokenised investment platform, for example, needs to understand its reporting duties, the treatment of its assets and whether its technology can be tested within a recognised European framework.
That is why the debate is not simply about attracting cryptocurrency firms at any cost. France is competing to show that investor safeguards and financial innovation can coexist, while the broader EU discussion continues over how MiCA applies to emerging areas such as decentralised finance. The debate over MiCA and DeFi illustrates how important precise, workable rules will be for the next generation of blockchain projects.
Six proposed measures target tax, tokenisation and business security
Midy says the proposal was shaped through discussions with the industry, including a crypto summit at the National Assembly attended by more than 150 startups and companies. The aim, he says, was to concentrate on changes that businesses considered especially useful, rather than produce a broad and complicated rewrite.
The six articles address different stages of building a crypto business. Some focus on how digital assets are taxed; others are intended to help companies use distributed-ledger technology or protect founders facing threats connected to their work.
Tax clarity for contributors, investors and crypto payments
The first measure would clarify the tax treatment of governance tokens awarded to people contributing to decentralised protocols. Under the proposal, taxation would be deferred until those tokens are sold, a change that could help developers who receive tokens but have not yet converted them into cash.
A second measure would let taxpayers carry forward losses on digital assets for up to ten years, aligning that treatment more closely with the rules for securities. Another would raise the threshold for tax exemption on payments made with crypto-assets, with the stated goal of making everyday use more practical. For anyone new to cryptocurrency, these are proposals—not current guarantees—so the rules in force should always be checked before making a transaction.
One example makes the distinction clear: a developer who receives governance tokens may owe tax under existing rules before having the proceeds of a sale. The proposed change aims to tie the tax event more closely to that sale, potentially reducing a cash-flow challenge while preserving taxation when value is realised.
Tokenisation and protection for company founders
The sixth article would allow French simplified joint-stock companies, known as SAS, to access the European DLT Pilot Regime. That could give eligible firms a clearer path to experiment with blockchain-based market infrastructure and tokenisation, including approaches that may help innovative small businesses seek investment.
Articles four and five address physical safety. One would enable company directors’ home addresses to be concealed in digital registers; the other would exclude certain company-funded protection costs for threatened executives from the scope of misuse of corporate assets. These provisions respond to a growing concern for founders whose public profile or visible holdings may expose them to targeted attacks.
France’s wider digital finance ecosystem is also developing beyond the proposed bill. For instance, Bpifrance’s work on a euro stablecoin points to interest in home-grown financial infrastructure, while European firms are navigating new licensing requirements. The challenge is to make these initiatives reinforce one another: practical rules, secure operations and credible products all matter to a country hoping to become a durable crypto hub.
Cybersecurity becomes part of France’s crypto leadership case
Midy argues that cybersecurity remains underfunded in both public administration and private companies, often treated as a compliance task rather than a core responsibility. He wants it considered a national defence priority, with stronger leadership and baseline protections across organisations.
That warning reaches well beyond the crypto sector. A successful attack on a company can expose customer data, interrupt services and undermine trust in digital finance; for a small blockchain startup, a serious breach can threaten its survival. France’s ambitions therefore depend not only on attractive regulation, but also on the ability of firms and institutions to defend the systems they build.
From regulatory ambition to parliamentary support
The proposal still has to make its way through Parliament. Midy intends to explain its aims to lawmakers across political groups before examination by the Finance Committee, while calling on industry organisations and entrepreneurs to make the case for the measures themselves.
For beginners watching the sector, the key point is that a bill is not the same as a law. If adopted, these changes could make France more appealing to founders and investors; until then, the proposal is best understood as a signal of the country’s direction. European leadership will ultimately depend on whether that political ambition becomes clear, consistent policy—and whether businesses can innovate safely within it.
