Deblock, Lyzi and Waltio chiefs ask France to tax swaps from crypto into stablecoins
Deblock, Lyzi and Waltio executives want France to tax crypto-to-stablecoin swaps, ending a 2019 rule that defers tax until holders cash out or spend. They argue the deferral leaves money parked in stablecoins and slows the build-out of French payment infrastructure.
The Investor · Invest desk
What happened
- Taxing the conversion into a regulated stablecoin would, they contend, let later payments and bank withdrawals go through without a fresh gains calculation.
- In return they want gains computed asset by asset, as with shares, in place of portfolio-wide apportionment, with pure crypto-to-crypto trades left untaxed.
- They later clarified that the change would not raise the rate or tax a gain twice for people who already declare, and would mainly move the timing.
- Chainalysis estimates that more than 90% of France's crypto gains went undeclared, based on 2025 data.
- Claire Balva, general director of trade association ADAN, said it is still only a proposal and no changes to the regime are expected to pass.
Why it matters
- Who's exposed exposure Holders who never report a cash-out would face a taxable event at the swap itself, putting most of any new revenue on them instead of on declarers.
- What it limits constraint According to ADAN, taxing moves into regulated euro stablecoins would push users toward unregulated dollar tokens such as USDT, away from the tokens the proposal treats as tax-cleared money.
- Who has to decide decision Backers have to find lawmakers to carry the change as amendments in the 2027 budget debate, because the government has drafted no text.
Next story · Invest · 2d ago
Tether invests in EFY Finance's seed round; firm says it settles to local accounts in 17 countriesConfirmed3 publishers
Two of the three signatories run companies that sell electronic payment products for crypto and stablecoins [9], and the third, Waltio, sells tax-reporting software [1]. The ask suits both businesses. French rules make the taxpayer weigh the whole portfolio's acquisition cost and market value, then allocate a share of any unrealized gain to each disposal [16]. A small crypto purchase can therefore require a full portfolio calculation [16]. Patureaux described what that does at a shop counter. "When paying in crypto, customers ask merchants a lot of questions about taxation. We find ourselves doing after-sales service for the merchant's customer instead of making sales," he told Cryptoast [10].
In Le Monde the executives framed the deferral around agent-driven commerce settled largely in dollar- or euro-pegged tokens [3], and called it a "fiscal singularity that is paid for in missed revenue and unbuilt infrastructure" [11]. The revenue half rests on industry estimates, cited in their piece, of an annual budget shortfall in the low billions of euros [21]. Neither published account explains how that estimate was built.
Take the timing claim at face value [17]. On Chainalysis's estimate [19], the people who already declare account for less than a tenth of French crypto gains [20], so most of any new money would have to come from holders who report nothing today. Bitcoin.com expects higher collection alongside DAC8, the EU crypto data-sharing scheme France has joined, and a boom in individual tax statements [22]. Individual tax statements are Waltio's market [1]. Morizot said "the non-taxation of crypto/stablecoin transactions is a sword of Damocles" [18].
Balva's objection is practical [12]. Tax is paid in euros, so she argues it can only fall at the conversion to fiat [12]. Under the proposal, a holder who swaps bitcoin into a euro token would owe euros on a trade that produced none [12].
The 2019 rule stays if Balva's forecast holds [13]. The full proposal needs the swap tax to survive a budget fight in a split industry [7]. Some argue the crypto-to-crypto exemption is one of the regime's few favorable features and should not go without clear offsets [7]. A partial version would take the other concessions the executives listed, multi-year loss carry-forwards and a higher exemption threshold for small crypto payments [6], and leave the swap untaxed.
I think the partial version is the likelier of the two changes, because it gives merchants a simpler checkout without asking any holder to pay sooner. The counter-case is that the executives offered the asset-by-asset method in return for the swap tax [5]. Lawmakers looking for revenue have little reason to grant that relief without the collection point attached. An amendment that taxes the swap and wins ADAN's support would prove me wrong.
What to watch
- Any amendment tabled in France's 2027 budget debate that makes conversions into regulated stablecoins a taxable event.
- Publication of the industry estimate behind the claimed annual shortfall in the low billions of euros.
- Whether ADAN backs the asset-by-asset method and a higher small-payment exemption if they are offered without the swap tax.
Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence45
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+30
- Incentives75
- Confidence55
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Jean Meyer of payments firm Deblock, Damien Patureaux of Lyzi and Pierre Morizot of tax-reporting software company Waltio urged the French government to treat conversions between volatile digital assets and stablecoins as taxable events.
- [2]
Under rules adopted in 2019, swapping one cryptocurrency for another, including bitcoin or ether into a regulated euro stablecoin, does not create a tax liability; the charge arises only when the holder converts into euros or spends the tokens on goods and services.
- [3]
The executives set out their argument in a Le Monde opinion piece framed around the risk that France could miss a wave of automated, agent-driven commerce settled largely in dollar- or euro-pegged tokens.
- [4]
The executives contend that shifting the taxable moment to the conversion into a regulated stablecoin would let later payments and bank withdrawals proceed without a fresh calculation.
- [5]
In return, the executives propose dropping portfolio-wide apportionment in favor of an asset-by-asset approach closer to the treatment of shares, while leaving pure crypto-to-crypto trades outside the tax net.
- [6]
The executives listed other concessions they want examined, including multi-year loss carry-forwards and a higher exemption threshold for small crypto payments.
- [7]
The idea has split the French industry; others note the current crypto-to-crypto exemption is one of the few relatively favorable features of the French regime and should not be given up without clear offsets.
- [8]
With the 2027 budget debate approaching and no government text rewriting these rules, any change would likely arrive through parliamentary amendments rather than a prepared bill.
- [9]
Patureaux's and Meyer's companies, Lyzi and Deblock, provide electronic payment solutions that support crypto and stablecoins.
- [10]
"When paying in crypto, customers ask merchants a lot of questions about taxation. We find ourselves doing after-sales service for the merchant's customer instead of making sales," Patureaux told Cryptoast.
- [11]
The executives wrote that the current treatment is a "fiscal singularity that is paid for in missed revenue and unbuilt infrastructure".
- [12]
Claire Balva, general director of ADAN, said taxation can only happen at fiat conversion, as taxes can only be paid in euros, not in bitcoin or stablecoins.
- [13]
Balva said this is still just a proposal and no changes to the current tax regime are expected to be passed.
- [14]
Balva said the measure would push users to exchange into stablecoins unregulated in the EU, such as USDT; the main trade association warned taxing a move into a regulated euro stablecoin could push users toward unregulated dollar tokens.
- [15]
The executives say holders keep balances in stablecoins instead of moving them into the banking system, leaving potential receipts unrealized and slowing the build-out of domestic payment infrastructure.
- [16]
French rules generally require the taxpayer to look at the overall portfolio's acquisition cost and market value, then allocate a portion of any unrealized appreciation to the specific disposal, so even a small crypto payment can demand a full portfolio calculation.
- [17]
In a later clarification the executives said the change would not raise the rate or tax the same gain twice for people who already declare; it would mainly move the timing.
- [18]
"the non-taxation of crypto/stablecoin transactions is a sword of Damocles"
- [19]
Chainalysis estimates that over 90% of France's crypto gains go undeclared, based on 2025 data.
- [20]
If more than 90% of French crypto gains go undeclared, those who already declare, the group the timing-only promise covers, account for less than 10% of gains.
- [21]
Industry estimates cited in the executives' piece suggest an annual budget shortfall in the low billions of euros.
- [22]
Bitcoin.com says the proposal would prompt a boom in individuals' tax statements and higher collection from crypto holders alongside DAC8, an EU crypto data-sharing initiative France has subscribed to.
Sources
2 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- crowdfundinsider.comFrench Execs Call for Direct Tax on Crypto to Stablecoin Trades
1 article · October 5, 2026
- news.bitcoin.comFrench Executives Propose Taxing Crypto-to-Stablecoin Conversions
1 article · October 5, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- Stablecoins
- Crypto Taxation
- French tax policy
Entities
- Waltio
- Chainalysis
- USDT
- Damien Patureaux
- DAC8