French banking giant BPCE is set to launch crypto trading for millions of its retail customers, positioning itself as one of the first major traditional banks in Europe to offer digital assets.
As detailed in a report from The Big Whale, customers will be able to buy and sell Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), and USDC (USDC) directly within the Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Épargne mobile applications beginning Monday.
The initial launch will cater to clients of four regional banks, including Banque Populaire Île-de-France and Caisse d’Épargne Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, reaching around 2 million customers. BPCE intends to progressively expand this service to its remaining 25 regional institutions by 2026, ultimately making crypto trading accessible to its entire retail customer base of 12 million.
A source within the bank reportedly informed The Big Whale that the gradual rollout is designed to “observe how the service performs at launch” before further expansion.
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BPCE launches subscription-based in-app crypto accounts
Transactions for buying and selling crypto will be executed through a specialized digital asset account within the banking apps, managed by Hexarq, BPCE’s crypto subsidiary. This account includes a monthly fee of €2.99 ($3.48) and a 1.5% commission per trade, with a minimum fee of $1.16. Users can utilize this service without the need for external exchanges or third-party wallets.
BPCE’s initiative comes amid growing competition in Europe between traditional banks and crypto-centric fintechs like Revolut, Deblock, Bitstack, and Trade Republic, all of which provide access to digital assets.
Several European banks are making similar moves. BBVA enables Spanish customers to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin and Ether directly in its app, backed by in-house custody. Santander’s Openbank digital branch offers trading and custody for five cryptocurrencies, while Raiffeisen Bank’s unit in Vienna has partnered with Bitpanda to deliver crypto services to retail customers.
Cointelegraph reached out to BPCE for comments, but had not received any response by the time of publication.
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France to impose taxes on crypto as “unproductive wealth”
Last month, French lawmakers narrowly passed an amendment to extend the wealth tax to include “unproductive assets,” which encompass certain types of real estate, luxury items, and digital assets like cryptocurrency.
According to the amendment, individuals with over $2.3 million in qualifying “unproductive wealth” will incur a new flat 1% tax, shifting from the current progressive tax on real estate wealth. The broadened taxable base includes digital assets. This proposal still requires approval from the Senate as part of the 2026 budget process before it can become law.
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