What happened?
France proposed putting about $48 billion — roughly 2% of its reserves — into Bitcoin while opposing the EU’s digital euro plan, signaling a push for greater financial sovereignty. At the same time SoFi announced it will launch Bitcoin and crypto trading and plans a SoFi USD stablecoin, and BlackRock’s CEO said central banks are increasingly exploring tokenization as gold prices soften. These developments coincided with a modest Bitcoin price bump and renewed investor interest in crypto as an institutional asset.
Who does this affect?
This affects national and EU policymakers, since France’s move challenges the digital euro debate and could reshape regional regulation. It also affects retail and institutional investors and fintech users, because SoFi’s trading and stablecoin will make crypto easier to access and increase market liquidity. Finally, central banks, asset managers and crypto projects feel the impact as tokenization, reserve strategies, and demand dynamics shift across global markets.
Why does this matter?
If a major economy like France adds Bitcoin to reserves it would legitimize crypto for other institutions and likely boost long-term demand and prices. Wider retail access via SoFi and more tokenization initiatives deepen liquidity and could increase short-term volatility while strengthening market structure. Overall, these trends speed institutional adoption, shift flows away from traditional hedges like gold, and raise the stakes for regulators and investors watching macro hedging and reserve strategies.