BPCE to Launch In-App Crypto Trading for 12 Million French Retail Clients

French banking group BPCE has announced that it will start offering regulated cryptocurrency trading within its Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Épargne mobile apps effective immediately from Monday, December 8, 2025.

The service, which will operate through BPCE’s digital-assets subsidiary Hexarq, will initially be available to about 2 million customers across four regional banks, including Banque Populaire Île-de-France and Caisse d’Épargne Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. Following the initial deployment, a full deployment to the group’s 12 million retail clients is scheduled for completion by the end of 2026.

The bank also announced that customers will be able to buy and sell four cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and USDC, directly within their existing banking apps, with no requirement for third-party exchanges or external wallets. With custody and settlement to be provided by Hexarq, which is PSAN-registered with France’s AMF.

Customers will be charged a €2.99 monthly account fee in addition to a 1.5% commission per trade, with a minimum of €1. The trades will be executed within the app, with immediate euro settlement from the user’s existing BPCE account.

The launch comes at a time Bitcoin is trading around $90,108, Ethereum above $3,114, and Solana around $132, with traders referencing the improved liquidity and an 87% chance of a Federal Reserve rate cut next week.

BPCE represents the growing list of European incumbents offering crypto services. BBVA provides BTC and ETH trading in Spain with in-house custody, Santander’s Openbank offers five cryptocurrencies in Germany and Spain, and Raiffeisen Bank International partners with Bitpanda for in-app access in Austria. BPCE’s fully integrated model, with no separate app or onboarding, is currently unique among large European banks.

The offering is fully compliant with the EU’s MiCA regulation and operates under Hexarq’s PSAN license granted in late 2024, making it the second bank-affiliated digital asset service provider in France after Société Générale’s SG Forge.

Meanwhile, French lawmakers are currently debating a 1% wealth-tax fee on crypto holdings above €2 million as part of the 2026 budget, although the proposal has not yet passed the Senate.

Following the announcement, users described the decision as a major milestone for mainstream adoption in Europe. Some pointed out the convenience of bank-grade KYC and fiat on-ramps, while others flagged the 1.5% fee as higher than most centralized exchanges and the custodial model as a trade-off for decentralization purists.

BPCE is France’s third-largest banking group by total assets, with €1.63 trillion, and a cooperative parent of the Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Épargne networks. Overall, it serves 35 million customers.

This article was originally published as BPCE to Launch In-App Crypto Trading for 12 Million French Retail Clients  on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.