Stablecoins: the French are topping up self‑held holdings, says Chainalysis
Chainalysis estimates the crypto economy in Western Europe at $2.08 trillion. In France, self‑held stablecoins have jumped 192 %.
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The amounts remain tiny compared to traditional savings. However, French bank deposits only increased by 2% over the same period. Chainalysis already published its global ranking of crypto adoption in September 2025. This time, France takes the lead in an indicator that few people were monitoring.
Between July 2025 and June 2026, the total capitalization of the crypto market halved. Western Europe still posted growth of 1.2% in its activity, to $2.08 trillion. Only sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America did better, according to the Chainalysis report.
The United Kingdom remains the region's largest market with $424.5 billion, or 20% of the total. But it fell by 8%, weighed down by the fall in its activity on decentralized exchanges (DEX). The European Union gained 2.2%.
Behind the British, Germany (288.8 billion) and France (215.8 billion) complete the podium. The French market is standing still. The Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland close the top 6, which concentrates two thirds of regional activity.
Chainalysis advances the MiCA track to explain the gap between the UK and the EU. Providers approved under the European Crypto-Asset Regulation (MiCA) can operate in all 27 member states with a single license. The deadline of July 2026 also pushed latecomers to complete their files. The United Kingdom, for its part, was waiting for its financial regulator (FCA) to open its own authorization window in September.
Stablecoin holdings in personal wallets jumped 131% across the region, compared to 52% globally. Western Europe's share of global sales increases from 3.4% to 5.1%. Austria and France recorded the largest increases.
In France, the number of personal wallets holding stablecoins increased from 3,577 in June 2025 to 12,255 a year later. The rest of Western Europe was satisfied with a factor of 1.7. Stablecoins now account for 54.2% of withdrawals made by French people from centralized platforms. France ranked tenth regionally on this indicator in 2023. It will occupy first place in 2026, ahead of Germany.
The timetable matches that of the debt. The monthly growth of French wallets increased from around 6% in mid-2025 to 18% at the end of the year, just after the bout of bond fever in the fall. It fell to 5% in June 2026, when the markets calmed down.
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- Journal du Coin11 Nov, 05:00
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