France’s National Assembly has backed a proposal that would make certain crypto-to-stablecoin conversions taxable from 2027, narrowing an existing exemption for crypto-to-crypto exchanges. The measure would remove tax deferral when investors exchange crypto assets for qualifying MiCA e-money tokens, potentially triggering capital gains taxation without a conversion into euros or another conventional currency.
According to the official National Assembly voting record, lawmakers adopted amendment I-3898 to the 2027 Finance Bill on October 16 by 38 votes to 37, with 25 abstentions. The amendment passed its first-reading floor vote by a single vote and remains subject to the rest of France’s budget process, meaning its provisions can still be modified or removed before enactment.
Under current French rules, exchanges between crypto assets without an additional cash payment generally benefit from tax deferral. Taxation is normally postponed until a disposal into fiat, goods or services creates a taxable event, with private crypto gains currently subject by default to a 31.4% flat levy composed of 12.8% income tax and 18.6% social contributions.
MiCA Stablecoins Would Lose Crypto Tax Deferral
The proposed rule creates a specific exception for e-money tokens, or EMTs, under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation. A swap from an asset such as Bitcoin into a qualifying EMT would become a taxable disposal even though the investor remains entirely within digital assets, with the rule scheduled to apply to relevant transactions from January 1, 2027 if enacted.
The distinction means the proposal does not automatically capture every asset commonly described as a stablecoin. MiCA’s e-money-token classification is a defined regulatory category rather than a general label for any token designed to maintain a stable price, making the legal status of the asset received central to the tax treatment.
That creates an unusual interaction between European regulation and national taxation. MiCA has already reshaped which stablecoins regulated platforms can distribute, including restrictions affecting USDT availability in Europe. The French proposal would add a tax distinction on top of those regulatory classifications, potentially making the legal category of a stablecoin relevant both to market access and to when gains are realized.
The broader MiCA framework has already imposed substantial operational requirements on European crypto businesses, particularly after transitional licensing periods expired in 2026. France’s amendment would extend the practical consequences of MiCA beyond issuer and service-provider regulation into individual investor taxation, without changing the underlying EU regulation itself.
Government Questions Implementation Before 2027
The French government opposed the amendment during the parliamentary debate. Public Accounts Minister David Amiel argued that lawmakers still need a workable definition and tracking mechanism for stablecoin reallocations inside crypto portfolios, describing implementation as too complex in its current form.
The proposal also arrives as regulated euro-denominated stablecoins become more integrated into European financial infrastructure. Products such as Revolut’s MiCA-regulated EURR illustrate how EMTs are increasingly positioned as payment and settlement assets rather than simply temporary trading instruments.
That role makes the tax distinction potentially significant for portfolio management. Moving from a volatile crypto asset into a regulated stablecoin could create an immediate tax liability even when no funds leave the blockchain ecosystem, changing the economics of using EMTs as temporary settlement or risk-management instruments.
For now, however, French taxpayers remain under the existing regime. The October 16 vote approved an amendment within the 2027 Finance Bill rather than a final tax law, and its January 2027 application depends on surviving the remaining parliamentary process and appearing in the enacted budget.