France Proposes 31.4% Tax on Stablecoin Swaps, Prompting Offshore Flight Warnings

French lawmakers have introduced budget amendments that would tax swaps from cryptocurrencies into EU-regulated stablecoins at the country's flat 31.4% capital gains rate beginning January 1, 2027. A separate proposed measure would require French taxpayers to declare self-hosted crypto wallets holding at least €100,000 (approximately $116,000), backed by fines of up to $11,600 for non-compliance. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis warned that taxing MiCA-compliant stablecoins could perversely incentivize traders to move transactions toward unregulated offshore stablecoins and decentralized finance platforms. Chainalysis also raised security concerns over the self-hosted wallet registry, noting that France accounted for 63.5% of the world's physical attacks on crypto holders tracked in July. The tax proposals remain drafts and must be resubmitted for a full National Assembly vote on October 20 after the finance committee initially rejected the broader revenue section. "Do we want more taxpayers to declare their assets, or a higher tax rate applied to a base that is increasingly evaded?" — Francois Volpoet.