France’s National Assembly voted on Nov. 3 to require residents to report self-custodied crypto wallets to tax authorities once their combined value reaches €100,000.
What the amendment requires
The measure, amendment No. I-2701, was filed by Charles de Courson and six other deputies from the LIOT group, and it passed by 150 votes to 44, with eight abstentions.
It extends article 1649 bis C of France’s tax code, which already requires residents to declare crypto accounts opened on foreign platforms.
The new obligation would cover wallets not held with a crypto service provider, including hardware devices such as Ledger and Trezor, with their value assessed on Dec. 31 of each year.
Failing to declare could bring a fine of up to €10,000.
The same evening, lawmakers rejected a rival amendment from Nicolas Sansu that would have set the threshold at just €5,000.
Fraud concerns and privacy pushback
The amendment’s authors called crypto a potentially significant vehicle for fraud, pointing out that realized gains reached €3.5 billion in 2021 while only €400 million in holdings were declared to the tax authority that year.
The text does not say what exactly must be declared, and Cryptoast noted this could mean handing over public addresses along with the on-chain history tied to them.
After a series of kidnappings targeting crypto holders in France, critics have warned against a registry of large holders, though de Courson dismissed the argument by comparing it to owning shares or gold.
Because value is measured at year-end, a wallet could move in or out of scope purely on price swings, without any buying or selling.
Several hurdles remain
Deputies still have to approve the revenue section of the 2027 budget, and if it is rejected, every adopted amendment falls with it.
The bill then heads to the Senate from Nov. 20 to Dec. 8, followed by a joint committee.
If the government invokes Article 49.3, it would choose for itself which amendments to keep.
Lawmakers have tried this before, as a €5,000 wallet declaration was previously voted during review of an anti-fraud plan, only to be removed in a joint committee.
