Europe’s race to broaden access to regulated crypto products just picked up speed. France has cleared ordinary investors to buy crypto-backed exchange-traded notes, a decision analysts say could reshape retail participation in the region.
Rather than announcing sweeping deregulation, the AMF tweaked its rules on complex products — a subtle adjustment that effectively lets crypto-indexed ETNs into the mainstream without the bold warning labels previously required. The update follows the UK’s decision earlier this year to reverse its ban, creating a two-country wave of regulatory momentum.
Key Takeaways
France has opened retail access to crypto-backed ETNs under strict rules.
Europe is seeing record inflows into digital asset ETNs, led by CoinShares.
Institutional players like Nordea and BoursoBank are expanding retail distribution.
Analysts view the move as long-awaited recognition that digital asset exposure can fit inside a consumer portfolio — but only if the instruments play by strict rules.
Who Gets In? Only the Biggest Digital Assets
The AMF’s filter is narrow. Only cryptocurrencies with deep liquidity and scale — at least €10 billion in market value and meaningful trading activity — qualify. The rest are excluded. ETNs also cannot use leverage or discretion, and the underlying assets must sit with custodians recognized under the EU’s MiCA framework.
The result is a pathway to retail participation without loosening investor protection — one that effectively ties France’s market to regulated infrastructure and platform oversight.
Europe’s Crypto Capital Flows Are Surging
The timing of France’s decision aligns with remarkable inflows into European crypto notes. With €2.5 billion entering these products this year — the highest on record — appetite is clearly accelerating rather than fading.
CoinShares has been the standout beneficiary. Its physical-backed products have attracted more than $1 billion alone, lifting the firm to a commanding position in Europe’s crypto-ETP landscape.
Chief executive Jean-Marie Mognetti argues that after pioneering the world’s first regulated Bitcoin ETP in 2015, Europe finally appears capable of converting early innovation into scale. He says the continent’s biggest obstacle has been its patchwork accessibility — something now beginning to resolve as regulators open retail channels.
France and the UK are large examples: around a quarter of the French public has financial holdings, and the UK counts roughly 14 million active retail market participants.
Institutions Are Moving Too
Nordea — Scandinavia’s largest asset manager — is set to onboard CoinShares’ Bitcoin product in December, a signal that regulated structures are winning confidence among large financial institutions.
CoinShares has also teamed up with BoursoBank, one of France’s most widely used digital banks, to distribute its products directly to household investors, a strategy meant to cement early entry advantages.
A Market Entering Its Expansion Era
While the US dominates headlines through its ETF boom, Europe appears poised to scale its own regulated crypto investment ecosystem — now with the retail channel unlocked.
For digital asset managers, France’s decision isn’t just regulatory housekeeping — it may be the tipping point that shifts crypto ETNs from niche institutional products into mainstream wealth tools across the continent.
