Key Highlights
- French lawmakers to review a motion to ban the European Central Bank’s (ECB) proposed digital euro and establish a Bitcoin reserve
- If approved, the French government would create a Bitcoin Reserve similar to the U.S. by acquiring 2% of the total supply of Bitcoin
- The motion also urges the government to endorse cryptocurrency with a friendly ecosystem
According to the latest report, French lawmakers are preparing to review a motion to ban the European Central Bank’s (ECB) proposed digital euro, a central bank digital currency (CBDC), while promoting Bitcoin as “digital gold.” It also aims to endorse a euro-pegged stablecoin for everyday use and boost other cryptocurrency adoption.
Led by Éric Ciotti and other members of the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR), the motion for a resolution was tabled on October 22 and tabled for debate on October 28 in the National Assembly.
The proposal entitled “Proposal For A European Resolution calling for support for the transformation of the monetary system” requests the French government to reject the ECB’s digital euro draft regulation.
Bitcoin Reserve, Ban on CBDC, and Many More
The motion also proposes a plan to create a national Bitcoin reserve. France would create a public institution to acquire 420,000 Bitcoins, which is approximately 2% of Bitcoin’s total supply, over the period of the next 7-8 years. This supply is currently valued at around €48 billion at current prices.
To fund this Bitcoin reserve, the bill defines various funding resources. This includes €15 million daily from savings schemes like Livret A, renewable-powered public mining using nuclear surplus, and retained seized crypto from crimes.
If approved, France would push the U.S.’s strategic Bitcoin reserve behind and crown the country the world’s top sovereign Bitcoin holder.
The same motion also urges the French government to ban the digital Euro as a “centralizing tool” threatening privacy. Instead, they want to promote euro-pegged stablecoins for daily payments with tax-free transactions under €200/day, tax payments in stablecoins, and MiCA reforms to allow EU banks to issue them freely.
By doing this, the French government can also challenge the dominance of USD-pegged stablecoins, which is over 90% at present.
At the time of writing, the total market capitalization of stablecoins is around $316.44 billion, and USD-pegged stablecoins like USDT, USDC, USDe, and others are leading the chart, according to CoinMarketCap.
Not only Bitcoin, but the bill also proposes to bring new reforms in the present ecosystem to boost the crypto industry. This includes lowering electricity taxes for miners, simplified institutional Bitcoin buys, and crypto as collateral by tweaking Basel rules.
U.S. and French Lawmakers Oppose CBDC
The concept of CBDC, like the digital Euro, has always been a hotbed for controversy for major countries like the U.S.
Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump decided to take “measures to protect Americans from the risks of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), which threaten the stability of the financial system, individual privacy, and the sovereignty of the United States, including by prohibiting the establishment, issuance, circulation, and use of a CBDC within the jurisdiction of the United States.”
Critics call CBDC surveillance tools. According to Jim Ferguson, the ECB could track, freeze, or program money.
He stated in a post on X, “digital IDs and CBDCs (digital Euro) are being rolled out in lockstep across the West. That’s not organic—it’s a supranational push from unelected technocrats, rubber-stamped by leaders who answer to them, not you.”
“Protect jobs—or perfect control? Once you opt in, opting out ends. Hold the line: keep cash alive, reject programmable money, demand ironclad bans on surveillance finance,” he added further.
