French lawmakers have advanced an amendment that would require individuals holding self-custodied crypto assets valued at €100,000 ($112,000) or more to report these holdings to tax authorities, or risk facing fines as high as €10,000.
New tax measures target self-custodied crypto
Amendment I-CF821, adopted by the National Assembly’s Finance Committee, focuses on digital assets that are not managed by crypto-asset service providers. Under this proposal, crypto assets kept in personal wallets must be disclosed if their value meets or exceeds the specified threshold.
Should the measure pass into law, French residents would be obligated to declare the total value of their self-held cryptocurrencies as of December 31 each year. Failure to comply could result in penalties reaching €10,000.
The sponsors—Charles de Courson, Jean-Pierre Bataille, and Michel Castellani of the Liberties, Independents, Overseas and Territories (LIOT) group—argued that these requirements are necessary to address tax evasion linked to undeclared digital assets held abroad or outside regulated platforms.
A parliamentary inquiry revealed that crypto capital gains reached €3.5 billion in 2021, but only €400 million was declared, highlighting a significant discrepancy between actual holdings and reported amounts.
The amendment aims to bridge this gap, supporting investigations that have indicated substantial underreporting among wealthy investors who utilize self-custodied wallets to bypass current reporting frameworks.
Further proposals and parliamentary process
In conjunction with the main amendment, lawmakers have also introduced related measures, such as an exit tax for cryptocurrency holdings above €800,000 in the event of relocation abroad, and a proposal to remove tax deferrals when converting cryptocurrencies to fiat-backed stablecoins.
Despite the committee’s adoption of these proposals, the Finance Committee later rejected the revenue section of the broader 2027 budget bill by a vote of 31 to 3. This means the proposed amendments, including the crypto reporting requirements, still need further parliamentary approval to take effect.
The National Assembly is set to begin debating the revenue section of the budget, starting from the government’s original draft. Lawmakers will need to submit and pass the crypto-related amendments during these proceedings before they can become law.
Importance of monitoring investor activity
Given the evolving landscape of crypto regulation and concerns over transparency, experts have highlighted the need for improved market monitoring. This is particularly relevant in sectors like the meme token market, where rapid shifts in online trends can produce significant financial movements.
Recent data from Fomo App illustrates the scale of opportunity and risk in this space. One notable case involved an investor turning $99 into nearly $370,000 trading “Niu Lai.” The app demonstrates the value of closely tracking not just prices, but also the timing and selection of tokens by investors. Fomo App combines token discovery, trading, social feeds, investor rankings, and real-time trade alerts in one platform, providing insights into meme token and overall market dynamics.
Tracking both the movement and choices of investors has become increasingly critical, especially in fast-moving segments like meme tokens. Platforms that bring together discovery tools and market data offer retail traders a greater ability to react to emerging trends.
