France Wants Bitcoin in Its Vaults — and Says Non to the Digital Euro

Éric Ciotti’s party just dropped Europe’s boldest crypto bill yet: a plan to make France the first nation to build a Bitcoin reserve and champion euro-backed stablecoins — while rejecting the ECB’s digital euro as a threat to financial freedom.

⚡ Quick Hits

• 🇫🇷 Bill introduced: October 22, 2025, by UDR (Union of the Right for the Republic)
• 🪙 Bitcoin reserve target: 2% of total BTC supply (~420,000 BTC) over 7–8 years
• 💶 Euro stablecoin limit: 200€ per day, tax-exempt for payments
• 💵 Global stablecoin split: 91% USD-backed ($210B of $230B) vs €259M in euro tokens
• 📊 France crypto volume (2024–25): $180B
• 🧱 Digital euro stance: Firmly opposed — “privacy and sovereignty at risk”

🏦 The Bitcoin Reserve Plan: National Digital Gold

The UDR party, led by Éric Ciotti, has introduced a pro-crypto legislative proposal that reads more like a blueprint for financial revolution. At its core: a national Bitcoin reserve managed by a new public body — the Public Administrative Establishment (EPA) — that would hold and accumulate BTC as a strategic asset.

Funding would come from:

• ⚡ Public mining using surplus nuclear and hydroelectric power
• 💰 Retention of seized bitcoins from criminal proceedings
• 💵 Allocation of 25% of Livret A and LDDS savings funds for daily BTC purchases (~€15M/day or 55,000 BTC/year)
• 🧾 Optional tax payments in BTC, pending constitutional approval

“Bitcoin is digital gold — and sovereignty begins with reserves,” the proposal states.

If enacted, the reserve would diversify France’s foreign exchange holdings and mark the first sovereign Bitcoin treasury in the EU, setting a precedent for digital-era monetary independence.

💶 Stablecoins, Not CBDCs

The bill’s second pillar champions euro-denominated stablecoins as a market-driven alternative to central bank digital currencies.

Key features:

• 💳 Daily payments up to 200€, tax and social contribution exempt
• 🏦 Tax payments in euro stablecoins authorized
• 📜 Call to ease MiCA requirements for banks and fintech issuers
• 🚫 Rejection of the ECB’s digital euro, framed as a “tool of financial surveillance”

“The digital euro would centralize financial power and erode personal privacy,” the bill warns, comparing it to China’s digital yuan.

With euro-backed stablecoins representing less than 0.2% of the global market, the UDR initiative highlights a glaring geopolitical imbalance: Europe depends almost entirely on USD-based tokens like USDT and USDC — a vulnerability Ciotti’s faction wants to end.

⚙️ Powering France’s Domestic Crypto Industry

Beyond reserves and regulation, the bill pushes to energize the French crypto sector through targeted reforms:

• ⚡ Energy policy: reduced taxes and flexible tariffs for mining centers using renewable or surplus power
• 📈 Financial inclusion: crypto ETNs allowed in French equity plans (PEA), opening the door to institutional exposure
• 🏦 Prudential reforms: adjusting Basel risk weights (currently up to 1250%) to enable crypto-backed “Lombard” loans

The objective? To make France a European hub for digital finance, attracting startups, liquidity, and institutional investors under a stable, sovereign regulatory umbrella.

🧭 Political Reality Check

The bill is independent of France’s main Finance Bill and faces an uphill battle: the UDR holds just 16 out of 577 parliamentary seats. Still, the symbolism matters.

Even if the proposal stalls, it signals a strategic political pivot — framing Bitcoin and euro stablecoins not as speculative assets, but as tools of national autonomy.

“Crypto is no longer a libertarian dream — it’s a geopolitical instrument,” said one Paris-based analyst.

🇫🇷 France’s Crypto Momentum

Despite the European Central Bank’s tightening stance, France’s crypto ecosystem is already thriving:

• ✅ BPCE subsidiary Hexarq received AMF approval for crypto custody and trading
• ⚡ Lightning Stock Exchange (Lise) launched under the EU’s DLT Pilot Regime
• 🔍 ACPR continues AML inspections on Binance and Coinhouse
• 💵 France processed $180B in crypto transactions (July 2024–June 2025)

In other words, the market is already moving — the law is just catching up.

⚖️ The Digital Euro Showdown

At the heart of the bill lies a clear rejection of the ECB’s digital euro:

• ❌ Privacy risk: potential for state tracking and fund freezes
• 💣 Financial stability risk: direct ECB deposits could drain liquidity from private banks
• 🧠 Ideological risk: concentration of monetary power at the expense of national sovereignty

UDR’s message is unmistakable — France should build its digital financial future, not rent it from Frankfurt.

🧩 Bigger Picture

Even if symbolic, the UDR bill reframes the crypto conversation in Europe. It’s no longer about speculation — it’s about sovereignty, energy, and the architecture of money itself.

By advocating Bitcoin as “national digital gold” and euro stablecoins as a counterweight to the dollar, France is signaling a new geopolitical logic: In the 21st century, monetary power = data, code, and compute.

TL;DR

• 🇫🇷 France’s UDR party proposes a national Bitcoin reserve (420,000 BTC target)
• 💶 Euro stablecoins favored over ECB’s digital euro
• ⚡ Public mining + savings allocations to fund BTC accumulation
• 🧱 Crypto industry incentives: energy reform, ETNs, lower Basel risk weights
• 🏛️ Bill unlikely to pass — but marks France’s boldest pro-crypto stance yet