- France’s public investment bank Bpifrance announced a €25 million ($27 million) investment initiative directly into cryptocurrency tokens and blockchain technologies.
- The initiative aims to strengthen France’s blockchain ecosystem amid increasing U.S. crypto dominance under Trump’s administration.
- Bpifrance’s strategy will focus on investing in smaller, unlisted tokens from French crypto startups, complementing its existing portfolio that includes Ledger and other blockchain firms.
Bpifrance, France’s public investment bank, announced Thursday it will allocate €25 million ($27 million) to directly purchase cryptocurrency tokens and invest in decentralized technologies. This strategic move aims to bolster the French blockchain sector as global competition intensifies, particularly from the United States.
During a blockchain event in Paris, bank officials outlined plans to accelerate their digital asset investment strategy by supporting local crypto startups and assisting French venture capital players working in Web3.
“We are convinced of the growing importance that these players will take on in the years to come, and we want to increase French competitiveness and presence in the field of digital assets,” said Arnaud Caudoux, Deputy CEO of Bpifrance, in a Thursday statement.
The new fund represents a significant expansion of Bpifrance’s blockchain involvement, adding direct token purchases to its existing support mechanisms that include grants, loans, and equity funding. The bank will prioritize blockchain-native projects with strong French connections, targeting sectors including decentralized finance (DeFi), staking infrastructure, tokenization platforms, Layer 1-3 protocols, AI-powered blockchain tools, and digital identity solutions.
This initiative marks one of the first instances of a major state investment bank purchasing open-market cryptocurrency tokens—what Bpifrance describes as a “pioneering initiative.” The bank plans to focus specifically on “smaller, newly-issued tokens” from French projects that have not yet been listed on exchanges.
The timing appears strategic, with Caudoux acknowledging U.S. acceleration in the crypto sector as a motivating factor. “The U.S. is really accelerating its own crypto strategy, so this is all the more important,” he stated in a report by Reuters.
Since his re-election, President Trump has positioned the U.S. to become the “undisputed Bitcoin superpower,” floated plans for domestic Bitcoin mining, and promised to make America the global cryptocurrency capital. His administration has also rolled back SEC enforcement against crypto firms, attracting blockchain talent and investment to the U.S. while Europe maintains a more cautious approach.
Bpifrance’s latest initiative aims to counterbalance this trend by retaining and developing blockchain expertise within France. The bank is no newcomer to the crypto sector, having first backed hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger in 2014. Since then, it has invested in several blockchain projects including Aleph.im, Morpho, and ACINQ.
In a 2023 interview with Decrypt, Ivan de Lastours, Bpifrance’s Blockchain & Crypto Lead, mentioned the bank was also exploring zero-knowledge proofs, highlighting their potential to verify authenticity in an era dominated by AI-generated content. “They may be key to the future of the internet,” de Lastours said.
France’s blockchain momentum received additional reinforcement this week when The Blockchain Group, a French tech company listed on Euronext Paris, announced its purchase of 580 BTC valued at approximately $50.6 million.
Despite these progressive steps toward blockchain adoption, France’s regulatory bodies continue to scrutinize the cryptocurrency sector. In January, French authorities launched a judicial investigation into Binance, examining potential money laundering and tax fraud between 2019 and 2024.
Additionally, in November 2024, France’s gambling regulator, ANJ, began investigating Polymarket, a cryptocurrency-based prediction market platform, to assess its compliance with French gambling laws. The investigation followed a French trader’s multi-million-dollar wager on the U.S. presidential election outcome, which prompted Polymarket to cut off access for users in France.
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