Groupe BPCE, France's second-largest banking group with over €1 trillion in assets, is set to launch a service allowing its customers to directly purchase cryptocurrencies through its mobile banking apps. According to an exclusive report from The Big Whale, the rollout begins on Monday, December 8, 2025.
The initial phase will involve four of the group's 29 regional banks, including Banque Populaire Île-de-France and Caisse d’Épargne Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, targeting approximately two million clients. The service will enable purchases of Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and the stablecoin USDC.
Customers will access the service via a new digital asset account within BPCE's existing apps, priced at €2.99 per month, with trading fees set at 1.5%. The bank's crypto subsidiary, Hexarq, will operate the service after receiving PSAN (Digital Asset Service Provider) authorization nearly a year ago, allowing it to provide regulated services under France's compliance framework.
BPCE plans a full expansion across its remaining regional banks in 2026, contingent on the performance metrics from this initial launch. This move represents one of Europe's most significant steps in integrating cryptocurrency transactions directly into traditional banking infrastructure.
The timing aligns with the accelerating implementation of the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. France has positioned itself as a proactive jurisdiction, attracting major global players like the U.S. exchange Gemini, which expanded its services to the country in November 2024.
Concurrently, France's National Assembly narrowly approved a proposal in late October 2025 for an "unproductive wealth" tax on crypto assets. The proposal, introduced by MP Jean-Paul Mattei, passed 163–150 and is now under review in the Senate as part of the 2026 national budget deliberations. If passed, the tax would take effect on January 1, 2026.
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