BPCE, France’s second‑largest banking group, will start letting customers buy Bitcoin and several other top digital assets next Monday. The new service launches at four of the group’s 29 regional banks and initially targets about 2 million clients before being rolled out to the rest of the group through 2026.
Customers will be able to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and USDC directly inside their existing BPCE banking apps using a dedicated digital asset account. That account will be operated by Hexarq, BPCE’s crypto subsidiary, and carries a monthly fee of €2.99 plus a 1.5% trading fee on transactions.
The phased rollout begins at four regional banks, including Banque Populaire Île‑de‑France and Caisse d’Épargne Provence‑Alpes‑Côte d’Azur, allowing BPCE to monitor early performance and scale the offering across its network. Hexarq, which secured PSAN authorization to provide digital asset services nearly a year ago, will manage account operations and custody functions.
The move marks a shift from BPCE’s previously cautious approach to crypto and comes as France accelerates implementation of the EU’s Markets in Crypto‑Assets (MiCA) framework. Regulators’ clearer rules and France’s evolving regime have encouraged traditional financial players and international crypto firms to expand services in the market.