Lawmakers in France are set to review a proposal that could have significant implications for the country’s adoption of digital currencies, from stablecoins to Bitcoin (BTC).
In a motion for a resolution introduced on Wednesday, Éric Ciotti of the Union of the Right for the Republic led a proposal for France’s national assembly to ban the digital euro, potentially being pioneered by the European Central Bank and instead promote “the dissemination of euro stablecoins and investment in crypto-assets.”
The motion cited the US’ efforts to ban central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and promote stablecoins through the GENIUS Act signed into law in July.
“This proposed European resolution therefore calls on the Government to advocate for the future European prudential framework specific to cryptoasset exposures to deviate specifically from the 2022 Basel standard to facilitate the pledging of cryptoassets, while maintaining the objective of a substantial overhaul of these rules within the Basel Committee,” said the motion.
The proposal did not explicitly mention establishing a national BTC reserve, but reports suggested that Ciotti intended to have the French government hold 2% of the total supply of the cryptocurrency, worth about $48 billion at the time of publication. Such a move would also follow the US government’s efforts to establish strategic BTC and crypto reserves, in part by using tokens seized through criminal cases.
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The motion, which as of Tuesday did not appear to have been considered by French lawmakers, was the latest in the country’s national assembly, potentially affecting policy on crypto and Bitcoin. In August, the political party Rassemblement National reportedly pushed for the French government to mine BTC using surplus energy from the country’s nuclear power plants.
Another country adopting crypto reserve policies?
In addition to the US government’s efforts under President Donald Trump to develop BTC and crypto stockpiles — which could potentially be bolstered by a $14-billion seizure earlier this month — other countries have been exploring options
Kyrgyzstan’s lawmakers reportedly began exploring the creation of a digital asset reserve following discussions with former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who works as an adviser to the government’s crypto committee. Meanwhile, one of the economic hubs in Bhutan said in January that it planned to set up a strategic crypto reserve, using BTC and other tokens.
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