French banking heavyweight BPCE is preparing to launch crypto trading to thousands and thousands of its retail customers, becoming certainly one of the primary major traditional European banks to supply digital assets.
According to a report from The Big Whale, starting Monday, the group will allow users to purchase and sell Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), and USDC (USDC) directly on its Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Épargne mobile apps.
The initial launch will cover customers of 4 regional banks, including Banque Populaire Île-de-France and Caisse d'Épargne Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, reaching roughly 2 million customers. BPCE plans to progressively expand the service to its remaining 25 regional units by 2026, eventually bringing crypto trading to its entire 12 million retail base.
A banking insider reportedly told The Big Whale that the phased approach goals to “monitor the performance of the service at launch” before scaling it up.
BPCE offers crypto trading. Source: Raphaël Bloch
BPCE introduces paid in-app crypto accounts
According to the report, crypto purchases and sales are processed through a dedicated digital assets account throughout the banking apps, managed by Hexarq, BPCE's crypto subsidiary. The account has a monthly fee of two.99 euros (US$3.48) and a commission of 1.5% per trade, with a minimum balance of US$1.16. Users can access the service without the necessity for external exchanges or third-party wallets.
BPCE's move comes at a time when competition is heating up across Europe between traditional banks and crypto-friendly fintechs resembling Revolut, Deblock, Bitstack and Trade Republic, all of which provide access to digital assets.
Several European institutions have also taken similar steps. BBVA allows Spanish customers to purchase, sell and hold Bitcoin and Ether directly on its app, supported by internal custody. Santander's digital arm Openbank offers trading and custody of 5 cryptocurrencies, while the Vienna-based unit of Raiffeisen Bank is partnering with Bitpanda to supply crypto services to its retail customers.
Cointelegraph reached out to BPCE for comment but didn’t receive a response by publication time.
France taxes cryptocurrencies as “unproductive wealth”
Last month, French lawmakers narrowly approved an amendment that may expand the country's wealth tax to “unproductive assets,” including certain real estate, luxury items and digital assets resembling cryptocurrencies.
Under the change, individuals who own greater than $2.3 million in qualified “unproductive property” would face a brand new flat 1% tax, a departure from today's progressive real estate wealth tax. The expanded tax base includes digital assets. The proposal must still pass the Senate as a part of the 2026 budget process before it becomes law.
