France’s Public Investment Bank Bpifrance to Invest $27 Million in Crypto – Decrypt

France-based public investment bank Bpifrance announced Thursday plans to invest $27 million (€25 million) directly into tokens and decentralized technologies in an effort to “strengthen the French blockchain ecosystem.”

Announced during a blockchain-focused event in Paris, the bank’s investment seeks to accelerate its “digital asset investment strategy” by bolstering French crypto startups and assisting the local venture capital players 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,” Arnaud Caudoux, Deputy CEO of Bpifrance, said in a Thursday statement.

Bpifrance’s new fund will complement its long-standing financial support mechanisms—like grants, loans, and equity funding—by targeting blockchain-native models with a strong “French footprint.” 

DeFi, staking, tokenization, Layer 1–3 protocols, AI-driven tools, and digital ID solutions are among them.

It represents one of the first moves by a major state investment bank to purchase open-market crypto tokens—a “pioneering initiative,” as Bpifrance put it.

Bpifrance will specifically target “smaller, newly-issued tokens” from French projects—assets that have yet to be listed on exchanges. 

“The U.S. is really accelerating its own crypto strategy, so this is all the more important,” Caudoux said as cited in a Reuters report, noting the U.S. crypto push under President Donald Trump as a wake-up call.

Since his re-election, Trump has pledged to make the U.S. the “undisputed Bitcoin superpower,” floated plans to mine Bitcoin domestically, and vowed to make the nation the “crypto capital” of the world.

The pro-crypto President’s administration has also rolled back SEC enforcement against crypto firms, drawing blockchain talent and capital toward the U.S. at a time when Europe remains cautious.

In response to developments in the U.S., Bpifrance’s initiative seeks to retain and nurture blockchain talent within France.

Bpifrance is no stranger to crypto—it first backed hardware wallet firm Ledger in 2014 and has since invested in Aleph.im, Morpho, ACINQ, and others. 

In a 2023 interview with Decrypt, Bpifrance’s Blockchain & Crypto Lead Ivan de Lastours said the bank was also exploring zero-knowledge proofs, noting their potential to verify authenticity in a world dominated by AI-generated content. 

“They may be key to the future of the internet,” de Lastours said.

Walking the line

France’s broader crypto momentum got another boost this week when The Blockchain Group, a France-based tech firm listed on Euronext Paris, announced it had purchased 580 BTC, worth roughly $50.6 million.

While such initiatives show a proactive approach to Web3 innovation in France, it comes at a time when the country’s regulatory bodies are intensifying scrutiny of the crypto sector.

In January, French authorities launched a judicial investigation into Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, over allegations of money laundering and tax fraud. 

The probe focused on activities between 2019 and 2024, with potential offenses committed in France and the European Union. ​

In November 2024, the French gambling regulator, ANJ, began probing Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction market platform, to assess its compliance with French gambling laws. 

The probe was triggered after a French trader reportedly placed a multi-million-dollar wager on the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, prompting Polymarket to cut off access for users in France, effectively shutting out a significant segment of its audience.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair