French state bank Bpifrance allocates €25M to direct crypto investment

French state-owned investment bank Bpifrance announced plans to launch a new fund of up to €25M to invest directly in locally issued (unlisted) crypto. The bank will focus on small, newly created tokens developed by French teams and may also support their listings on exchanges.

State-owned French investment bank Bpifrance has unveiled a €25m fund to directly invest in emerging French crypto assets. The decision falls under the bank’s ongoing efforts to nurture the experimentation of blockchain technologies and the growth of the digital asset market in France. Arnaud Caudoux, the deputy CEO of Bpifrance, explained that the goal was clearly to accelerate the crypto industry.

The public investment bank, which has invested over €150M in the crypto sector over the past 10 years, plans to accelerate its investment and spend roughly the same amount over the next four years. 

💥BREAKING:

🇫🇷 FRENCH STATE-OWNED BANK BPIFRANCE LAUNCHES €25M FUND FOR NEW FRENCH CRYPTO TOKENS

BANKING FOMO IS HERE 🚀 pic.twitter.com/1j5T9nCJyt

— Crypto Rover (@rovercrc) March 27, 2025

Bpifrance has taken stock after 10 years of investing in the crypto industry, and it’s quite positive. Caudoux confirmed this Thursday that the results were there despite some of the ups and downs specific to this industry. The institution has supported approximately 200 blockchain startups since 2014, injecting more than €150 million through partner funds, as well as direct equity investments of €15 million. 

Caudoux noted that, with the exception of a few cases, all Bpifrance crypto projects were still active, and most were experiencing strong growth. He insisted that it was time to accelerate France’s crypto venture in the context of a dynamic U.S. In this context, Bpifrance has, therefore, decided to double its investment by 2029, diversifying its financing tools: loans, equity investments, and now token investments.

“Instead of purchasing large cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, the fund will be targeted towards buying smaller newly-created tokens issued by French projects, before they are listed on crypto exchanges.”

– Arnaud Caudoux

Clara Chappaz, France’s Minister Delegate in charge of AI and Digital, said Bpifrance’s initiative strongly signals its determination to make France a country of excellence for these technologies. 

France joins the U.S. in reviving crypto interest among investors 

According to Reuters, interest in crypto has revived globally since President Trump’s election win in November. Trump has expressed support for the industry, sought to overhaul policies, and even launched his own crypto products. However, European finance ministers are concerned that the U.S. embrace of crypto could affect eurozone monetary sovereignty and financial stability. 

Caudoux said that U.S. policies were attracting crypto companies to move there. He added that Europe had great engineers and great companies, and ‘we want to keep those companies here because we strongly believe that it is very important in the future to have our own ecosystem.’ Caudoux also asserted that Bpifrance will continue with its lending activity, but it will focus on equity investments and tokens, following the successful experiences with Morpho and Aleph. Bpifrance has since exited Aleph but still holds its Morpho tokens.

Bpifrance’s plan provides for a balanced allocation with €100 million in direct investments, €100 million in indirect investments via partner funds (Cathay Ledger in particular), and a €25 million envelope dedicated to tokens. Caudoux explained that Bpifrance could not yet create a token fund due to regulatory reasons, so the bank was planning to make investments as they arose, and they would be included on Bpifrance’s balance sheet. 

A few days ago, Chappaz announced her intention to take measures to continue supporting the French sector from a regulatory and financial perspective. She said she will bring together crypto stakeholders in April to assess the state of the sector and ensure that France was ‘always a place of choice’.

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