French banking heavyweight BPCE is getting ready to introduce crypto buying and selling to tens of millions of its retail prospects, making it one of many first main conventional European banks to supply digital property.
In keeping with a report from The Massive Whale, the group will enable customers to purchase and promote Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL) and USDC (USDC) instantly inside its Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Épargne cellular apps beginning Monday.
The preliminary rollout will cowl shoppers of 4 regional banks, together with Banque Populaire Île-de-France and Caisse d’Épargne Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, reaching roughly 2 million prospects. BPCE plans to increase the service step by step throughout its remaining 25 regional entities via 2026, in the end making crypto buying and selling obtainable to its full 12-million-strong retail base.
A financial institution insider reportedly instructed The Massive Whale that the phased strategy is meant to “monitor how the service performs at launch” earlier than scaling.
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BPCE rolls out paid in-app crypto accounts
Crypto purchases and gross sales will likely be dealt with via a devoted digital asset account throughout the banking apps, managed by Hexarq, BPCE’s crypto subsidiary, per the report. The account carries a 2.99 euros ($3.48) month-to-month charge and a 1.5% fee per commerce, with a minimal of $1.16. Customers will be capable to entry the service while not having exterior exchanges or third-party wallets.
BPCE’s transfer comes as competitors intensifies throughout Europe between conventional banks and crypto-friendly fintechs comparable to Revolut, Deblock, Bitstack and Commerce Republic, all of that are providing entry to digital property.
A number of European establishments have additionally taken comparable steps. BBVA allows Spanish customers to purchase, promote and maintain Bitcoin and Ether instantly inside its app, backed by in-house custody. Santander’s digital arm Openbank offers trading and custody for 5 cryptocurrencies, whereas Raiffeisen Financial institution’s Vienna-based unit partnered with Bitpanda to bring crypto services to its retail shoppers.
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France to tax crypto as “unproductive wealth”
Final month, French lawmakers narrowly approved an amendment that may prolong the nation’s wealth tax to cowl “unproductive property,” together with sure actual property, luxurious objects, and digital property comparable to crypto.
Beneath the modification, people holding greater than $2.3 million in qualifying “unproductive wealth” would face a brand new flat 1% tax, a shift from at this time’s progressive actual property wealth tax. The expanded taxable base contains digital property. The proposal should nonetheless cross the Senate as a part of the 2026 funds course of earlier than changing into regulation.
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