Bull Bitcoin Sues to Annul France's DAC8 Crypto Tax Decree
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- Bull Bitcoin petitioned France's Conseil d'État to annul Decree No. 2025-1276, which implements the EU's DAC8 directive, warning it would create a "mass database" linking legal identities, home addresses, and transactions — putting up to 135 million European crypto holders at risk.
- The exchange filed its summary petition with the Conseil d'État on Feb. 24 and submitted a substantive legal brief on Wednesday; Bull Bitcoin said it plans to pursue "every legitimate avenue" against both DAC8 and the OECD's global counterpart, the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF).
- DAC8, in force since Jan. 1, 2026, mandates crypto service providers collect user identity and transaction data and auto-exchange it across EU member states; first reports covering the 2026 calendar year must be filed by Sept. 30, 2027.
- Bull Bitcoin grounded its physical-safety argument in crime data: RTL reported French police have counted 41 crypto-related kidnappings since the start of 2026, while CertiK found wrench attacks surged 75% in 2025 to 72 verified cases worldwide, with France logging the most incidents (19) and Europe accounting for roughly 40% of the global total.
- The exchange also pointed to the Coinbase customer data breach in May 2025, which affected less than 1% of its transacting monthly users and may cost the exchange up to $400 million in reimbursements, as evidence of the leak risk inherent in centralized identity databases.
Why it matters: If the Conseil d'État annuls or suspends the decree, France's DAC8 implementation grinds to a halt — potentially shielding up to 135 million European crypto holders from automatic cross-border identity and transaction reporting to tax authorities, and setting a precedent other member states could cite. With France already the world's worst hotspot for crypto kidnappings (41 incidents counted since January 2026), the exchange's physical-safety argument rests on documented, named-source crime statistics rather than abstract concern.
