After years of waiting while Americans loaded up on Bitcoin ETFs since January 2024, French investors finally have their regulated product. Amundi, Europe's leading asset manager, just launched its Bitcoin ETP on Euronext Paris, approved by the AMF. Unprecedented. 🔥
🔍 What's happening?
The Amundi Bitcoin ETP is the very first instrument of its kind to receive the green light from the Financial Markets Authority. A historic turning point for crypto access in France, where regulation had been moving at a snail's pace compared to the United States.
The timing of the launch is no accident. After a challenging first quarter, Bitcoin is currently hovering around 85,000 dollars according to sources, or roughly 77,821 dollars at the time of writing. The ETP is accessible only through a standard brokerage account, not through a PEA or life insurance policy.
💡 Why does it matter?
For the French trader, this is a radical shift. Until now, you had to go through sometimes opaque crypto platforms or complicated foreign ETPs to trade. Now you have a product listed on Euronext Paris, regulated by the AMF, with all the legal security that comes with it.
The downside? No tax advantages. A standard brokerage account means a flat 30% tax on capital gains, whereas a PEA would have saved you big money after five years. And there's no way to hold it in a life insurance policy to optimize your estate.
📊 Our take
It's a step forward for crypto democratization in France, but we're left wanting more.
AMF approval is reassuring for institutional investors or cautious individuals who don't dare open a wallet. But tax-wise, it's a penalty. At 30% flat tax with no optimization options, you pay full freight on every cent of gains. Meanwhile, Americans are playing with their ETFs in tax-sheltered IRA accounts, and BlackRock has raked in tens of billions over the past two years. Europe remains hamstrung by its own rules, and Amundi arrives with a clean product, sure, but disadvantaged against platforms that at least let you defer taxation if you don't withdraw in euros. For the active trader, switching to an ETP on a brokerage account instead of a pure crypto platform means paying more brokerage and management fees for the same underlying asset. Our advice: if you're aiming for the long haul and sleep better with an AMF-approved product, go for it. If you want to optimize your taxes or trade actively, stick with regulated European crypto platforms or wait for Amundi to negotiate a PEA-SME wrapper.
✅ Key takeaways
- First Bitcoin ETP approved by the AMF, listed on Euronext Paris
- Accessible only through a standard brokerage account, no PEA or life insurance policy
- 30% flat tax, no tax advantages for now
What do you think? Ready to pay 30% flat tax for the security of an AMF-approved product, or would you rather keep control with your own wallet?
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Source: AMF, Amundi, financial press
