A state-backed bank in France is reportedly launching a multimillion-dollar initiative to invest in crypto projects.

According to a new report from Bloomberg, French government-owned bank Bpifrance – which has nearly $110 billion in assets under its management – is rolling out a $27 million crypto venture fund to invest in digital asset startups.

Not only will the fund target projects that offer tokens in return rather than equity, it will also focus on blockchain protocols with “a strong French footprint” within the fields of decentralized finance (DeFi), artificial intelligence (AI), staking and asset tokenization.

Bpifrance deputy CEO Arnaud Caudoux says the bank needs to step up its accumulation strategy to be able to compete with the US now that pro-crypto politician Donald Trump is president once again.

As stated by Cardoux, according to Bloomberg,

“The new US policy is creating massive attractivity for all crypto companies from across the world. We want to keep those companies here because we strongly believe that it’s very important in the future to have our own ecosystem.”

Earlier this month, Trump announced that the US will adopt Bitcoin (BTC) and other digital assets as strategic reserve assets, which at the time caused a “sell-the-news” event.

Bpifrance first became interested in cryptocurrencies in 2014 when it struck a deal with the hardware developer Ledger. In 2022, it went on to invest in the DeFi lending platform Morpho.

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French public investment bank Bpifrance announced plans to accelerate its digital asset investment strategy, committing up to €25 million to support French blockchain companies through direct investments in crypto tokens.

The move marks a rare foray by a sovereign-backed fund into decentralized financial markets and highlights France’s ambitions to lead in emerging technologies.

The announcement was made on March 27 at a blockchain industry event in Paris, attended by Clara Chappaz, Minister Delegate for AI and Digital Affairs.

Backed by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the program aims to bolster the French blockchain ecosystem by targeting projects with strong local ties, including decentralized finance, tokenization, staking infrastructure, identity certification, and blockchain-integrated AI applications.

Bpifrance has been a key supporter of the French blockchain landscape for nearly a decade, with more than €150 million deployed across over 200 startups.

These include equity stakes in firms such as ACINQ, Dfns, Flowdesk, and Arianee, as well as investments in dedicated digital asset funds managed by White Star Capital, Cygni Capital, Sparkle Ventures, and Ledger Cathay.

The bank first tested crypto asset operations in 2022 with small-scale token investments in French protocols Aleph.im and Morpho, allowing it to develop internal capabilities for managing digital assets.

These pilot initiatives laid the foundation for the current scale-up, which now includes active participation in decentralized financial markets and deeper engagement with tokenized ecosystems.

France’s presence in global digital asset investment remains limited despite rapid international growth, with over 1,000 crypto-focused funds managing more than €2.7 trillion globally.

Bpifrance’s move represents one of the first sovereign fund-backed efforts to invest directly in crypto tokens and engage with next-generation blockchain infrastructure.

The new €25 million allocation will be deployed alongside Bpifrance’s existing innovation tools, including grants, loans, and equity investments through its Digital Venture, Large Venture, and French Touch Capital divisions.

The goal is to create a more robust and competitive environment for French blockchain startups and to accelerate their ability to scale within the evolving European regulatory framework.