French lawmakers voted on October 16 to approve a proposal that would tax gains on certain cryptocurrency swaps into stablecoins under European Union regulations. The same vote rejected a separate plan for extended loss carryforwards.
Amendment I-3898, which covers stablecoin swaps, passed narrowly with 38 votes in favor to 37 against, with 25 abstentions. A competing amendment for a ten-year crypto loss carryforward failed 75 to 18, with three abstentions. Both votes took place during the first reading of France's 2027 finance bill in the National Assembly.
How the Rule Would Work
Under current French tax rules, investors who exchange one cryptocurrency for another without converting to cash receive a tax deferral on any gains that year. The new amendment would eliminate this deferral when investors swap into MiCA e-money tokens—crypto assets designed to maintain stable values tied to official currencies like the euro or US dollar.
Under the proposal, an investor moving Bitcoin or Ethereum with accumulated gains into a qualifying stablecoin would owe tax on those gains, even though the money remains in cryptocurrency and no euros are withdrawn to a bank account. The tax would apply to gains above the acquisition cost, with documented fees factored in.
The amendment would also change cost-basis calculations. Instead of spreading costs across an entire portfolio, it would use a weighted average method for assets of the same type purchased at different prices. Holdings bought before 2027 would allow investors to use their documented actual costs or permanently elect to spread existing portfolio costs based on December 31 valuations.
Loss Offsets Narrowed
Current tax guidance allows crypto losses to offset crypto gains within the same tax year, but losses cannot be carried forward to future years. The rejected amendment would have permitted unused losses to be carried forward for up to ten years.
If the stablecoin provision takes effect without additional loss reforms, investors would be unable to use net crypto losses from prior years against gains from covered swaps.
The budget remains in its first reading. A provisional text dated October 19 retained the stablecoin provision with a proposed implementation date of January 1, 2027, contingent on the measure becoming law.
