France targets large self-custody wallets with reporting

TLDR

France is advancing a rule that would force residents to report large self?custody crypto holdings, but it is not law yet.

1. A Finance Committee amendment would require reporting self?custodied crypto worth at least 100,000, with fines up to 10,000 for non?disclosure.
2. The rule targets tax evasion by covering personal wallets that fall outside existing reporting by regulated crypto service providers.
3. The measure still must pass full parliamentary debate and could be changed or rejected, so users should watch the final budget text and timing.

Deep Dive

1. What France Is Proposing

Frances National Assembly Finance Committee has adopted amendment I?CF821, which would add a new rule to the tax code requiring residents to declare self?custodied crypto holdings of at least 100,000 (about $112,000) held outside regulated providers, including personal wallets. Holdings would be reported at their value on 31 December, and failure to declare could lead to fines of up to 10,000, according to committee coverage on a community report and Cointelegraph.

Sponsors say the goal is to fight tax evasion after a parliamentary inquiry found around 3.5 billion of crypto capital gains in 2021 but only 400 million of crypto holdings declared.

2. Why Self?Custody Is In Focus

Existing and upcoming EU rules such as DAC8 mainly capture data from crypto?asset service providers, meaning custodial exchanges and brokers already face reporting duties. This new French measure explicitly covers crypto not held by a crypto?asset service provider, so it is aimed at closing the gap where high?value assets sit in private wallets outside institutional reporting.

Practically, that means hardware wallets, software wallets and other self?hosted setups held by French tax residents could be in scope once combined value crosses 100,000, regardless of which coins are inside.

3. What Could Happen Next

The amendment is part of a wider package of crypto tax changes, including an exit tax for holdings over 800,000 when moving abroad and ending tax deferrals on swaps into fiat?backed stablecoins. However, the Finance Committee then rejected the revenue section of the 2027 budget bill, so these crypto measures must be resubmitted and approved during the full National Assembly debate before they can become law.

They would then still need to clear the rest of the French legislative process, and details like thresholds or penalties could be revised during negotiations.

Conclusion

France is signaling a tougher stance on undeclared crypto by extending tax reporting from custodial platforms to large self?custody holdings, but the proposal remains at an early legislative stage. For crypto users, the key takeaway is that high?value self?hosted wallets may lose some privacy in favor of tax transparency, and the decisive moment will be how the final budget law treats this amendment.