France is weighing two contradictory crypto policies that signal a split vision in Paris: treating digital assets as taxable “unproductive” wealth while pursuing a strategic national Bitcoin reserve. A first-reading amendment in the French National Assembly rebrands the real-estate-focused wealth tax into a broader tax on “unproductive wealth,” explicitly including digital assets.

French lawmakers have proposed that the country could generate up to $150 million in annual revenue by embracing Bitcoin mining. They argue that Bitcoin mining could serve as a solution to France’s recurring energy surplus and help address grid imbalances.