French State Bank Announces €25 Million Crypto Investment Fund
France's state-owned public investment bank Bpifrance has revealed plans to accelerate its crypto investment strategy with a €25 million ($27 million) fund dedicated to digital assets. The announcement comes as part of a broader effort to support French companies and venture capitalists in the blockchain industry.
The bank described this initiative as "pioneering among sovereign wealth funds on a global scale." The Ministry of Economy and Finance has backed the project, showing government-level support for France's growing blockchain ecosystem.
Bpifrance will make direct investments in blockchain-based business models with strong French connections. Target areas include:
- Decentralized finance
- Decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs)
- Tokenization and staking
- Layer 1, 2, and 3 chains
- Artificial intelligence and identity verification
Instead of receiving equity, the bank will hold tokens from these investments. This approach complements Bpifrance's existing support mechanisms, which include innovation grants, loans, and equity investments through its Digital Venture, Large Venture, and French Touch Capital funds.
The ability to invest directly in digital assets represents a major step forward for the public bank. It will now be able to hold tokens listed on decentralized financial markets while building expertise in asset tokenization and blockchain-based liquidity management.
The announcement follows increased activity in France's crypto sector. Recently, French tech firm The Blockchain Group acquired 580 Bitcoin worth approximately $51 million, bringing its total holdings to 620 BTC valued at over $54.2 million. This positions the company as the 28th largest corporate Bitcoin holder globally.
During a press briefing, Bpifrance Deputy CEO Arnaud Caudoux explained that direct token investments became "much more urgent" given the United States' accelerating crypto strategy. "The new U.S. policy is creating massive attractivity for all crypto companies from across the world," Caudoux said.
Bpifrance has already established itself as a key player in France's blockchain sector over the past decade. The bank has invested more than €150 million ($162 million) in blockchain projects and supported 200 French startups, including ACINQ, Dfns, Flowdesk, and popular hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger.
