Digital Assets: The New Play for French Banks, Fintechs and Asset Managers

SpeakersThe Big Whale Benchmark: French Banks & Fintechs

• Gregory Raymond, Head of Editorial at The Big Whale

Panel: Challenges and Opportunities for French Players

• Frédéric Dalibard, President & CEO at Hexarq (BPCE)
• Nicolas Louvet, CEO at Coinhouse
• Paul Bureau, Head of Digital Assets at Banque Delubac
• Raphaël Bloch, CEO at The Big Whale

Banks are accelerating, asset managers are still waiting

The Big Whale's first benchmark on French institutional digital asset adoption reveals a clear split between categories. Key findings:

• Fintechs have reached cruising speed: major infrastructure and strategic investments are done
• 100% of banks with a developed digital asset activity increased their budgets this year; 2 out of 7 by more than 20%
• Asset managers remain cautious: sitting at the end of the distribution chain, they need infrastructure and liquidity at scale before they have a reason to lead
• 45% of the 300+ digital asset job postings tracked by The Big Whale in French banks this year are compliance roles, a direct signal that products are live and need to be governed

The benchmark will expand to Germany, then the UK and Spain, building the most comprehensive map of institutional digital asset adoption in Europe.

Tokenized bonds, not stablecoins, are the leading use case

Across fintechs, banks and asset managers, tokenized bonds and securities are the primary institutional use case. Tokenized securities offer immediate, measurable back-office and settlement efficiency gains within familiar regulatory frameworks. Stablecoins remain strategically relevant but their rollout has been slower than anticipated: MiCA compliance complexity and uncertain treatment have kept most actors watching. Tokenized asset infrastructure comes first, stablecoin rails follow.

Hexarq is the blueprint for how a large banking group enters the market

BPCE created Hexarq as a standalone regulated subsidiary, avoiding loading compliance and capital requirements onto the parent group while giving each regional bank autonomy to adopt the offering at its own pace. The rollout to date:

• December 2025: silent pilot on 4 establishments
• March 2026: 9 additional establishments onboarded
• Next: full network of 14 Banques Populaires and 15 Caisses d'Épargne, plus Palatine (the group's private bank)

A third of clients contacting customer service are already asking when they can deposit digital assets held elsewhere. Custody is the next feature to come.

Crypto-native platforms must reinvent their model

CoinHouse has 12 years of history, 300,000 accounts and 50,000 active users, a compliance track record and customer knowledge base no bank can replicate quickly. But the trading moat is eroding:

• The altcoin era is fading; users are consolidating around top 10-15 assets
• Pure trading volumes are declining as the asset class matures
• The pivot toward tokenized financial products and wealth management services is underway

Banks bring distribution at scale, and the gap can close faster than expected.

Delubac built its position on clients other banks refused

Banque Delubac & Cie entered digital assets by serving clients other banks turned away: crypto-native individuals, entrepreneurs with complex structures, family offices seeking 1-5% crypto exposure without using an exchange. Adjacent services followed naturally: notaries and lawyers regularly contact Delubac with clients needing to reintegrate crypto gains into a banking relationship for property or estate transactions.

Recent milestones:

• First French bank to receive MiCA notification (October 2025)
• Launched a crypto asset management mandate, framed in traditional wealth management vocabulary to lower the barrier for clients new to the asset class

MiCA consolidates the market, Revolut and Trade Republic are the real wildcard

MiCA will make compliance costs prohibitive for smaller platforms without established infrastructure, driving consolidation toward actors with CASP licenses already in place. The competitive threat discussed most in the room goes beyond regulation:

• Revolut and Trade Republic combine massive distribution, strong consumer brands and the capital to absorb MiCA costs
• Both the crypto-native and traditional banking models are converging toward full financial service providers
• The scenario where they meet in the middle, while Revolut and Trade Republic hold the mass market, is already the working assumption

Conclusion

French institutional adoption of digital assets has moved from exploration to execution. The benchmark quantifies it; the panelists confirmed it from the inside. What separates leaders from laggards now is speed of organizational change. The window is open, but the cost of waiting rises with every quarter.