Bonjour, Bitcoin: BNP Paribas Serves Up Six Crypto ETNs for French Retail

BNP Paribas is finally joining the party—better late than never, right? The French banking giant is rolling out six new crypto-linked ETNs, giving retail clients in France a chance to get Bitcoin and Ether exposure through products that won't make their compliance officers faint. Because nothing says "we're serious about digital assets" quite like wrapping crypto in institutional-grade packaging.

Starting Monday, these ETNs—indexed to BTC and ETH—will be available through standard securities accounts. The products are open to individual investors, entrepreneurs, private banking clients, and users of the bank's digital platform Hello bank! Wealth management clients outside France might get access later, because nothing says "slow rollout" like letting foreigners in after the locals have had their espresso.

For those keeping score at home, ETNs let investors track crypto price movements without actually holding the assets. It's like having a relationship with someone through their Instagram—you're exposed to all the action, but you're not actually touching anything. Just keep in mind: there's credit risk involved. If the bank goes bust, so does your investment. On the bright side, no tracking error and some tax perks. Bon appétit, indeed.

This isn't BNP Paribas' first rodeo in the digital asset space. In 2024, the bank helped arrange Slovenia's first digital sovereign bond—the EU's debut blockchain-based government bond. Last September, BNP Paribas and HSBC joined the Canton Foundation, which runs the Canton Network, a blockchain focused on institutional finance and real-world asset tokenization. The bank also backed Digital Asset's $135 million funding round alongside Goldman Sachs, Citadel and other heavy hitters. Basically, they've been collecting crypto credentials like Pokémon cards.

More recently, BNP Paribas Asset Management launched a tokenized share class of a money market fund