Main Points:
- Samson Mow of Jan3 met French MEP Sarah Knafo at BTC Prague to plan nation-state Bitcoin adoption in France and beyond.
- Discussions focused on creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for France and pushing “friendly regulations.”
- Paris-based Blockchain Group bought 624 BTC (€60.2 M ≒ $68.7 M) in early June, rising its treasury to 1,471 BTC.
- Bpifrance, France’s state investment bank, set up a €25 M ($27 M) crypto acquisition fund in late March to back local blockchain projects.
- Despite growing interest, European corporate Bitcoin adoption trails other regions due to regulatory and market-maturity hurdles.
- Recent market data shows a 9 % surge in BTC/EUR trading volume (June 22) and correlated gains in crypto-linked equities like MicroStrategy.
Samson Mow’s Meeting with Sarah Knafo
On June 22, 2025, at the BTC Prague conference, Samson Mow—founder of Jan3, a startup dedicated to state-level Bitcoin adoption—held a constructive session with Sarah Knafo, a Member of the European Parliament and prominent Bitcoin advocate. According to Mow’s post on X (formerly Twitter), they explored avenues to “kick off a nation-state Bitcoin adoption wave in France and perhaps all of Europe”. Knafo extended an invitation for Mow and his team to visit France, emphasizing that “France should tackle these issues head-on” and lauding Mow’s advisory roles to figures including El Salvador’s president.
Building a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
Central to their dialogue was the proposal to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Fund for France. Such a fund would enable the French government to hold and manage Bitcoin directly on its balance sheet, serving both as a hedge against currency debasement and as a statement of long-term faith in crypto as a sovereign asset class. While details remain in the brainstorming stage, Knafo’s office has signaled support for “friendlier regulations” that would make government procurement of Bitcoin legally and operationally smoother.
France’s Growing Institutional Interest
France’s private and public sectors have already taken significant steps:
- Blockchain Group (Paris-based) acquired 624 BTC on June 3, 2025, for €60.2 million (≈ $68.7 million), boosting its holdings to 1,471 BTC—Europe’s first firm to brand itself as a Bitcoin treasury company.
- Bpifrance, the state investment bank, announced on March 27, 2025, a €25 million ($27 million) fund to purchase cryptocurrencies from emerging French blockchain ventures, marking its first dedicated crypto-buying vehicle.
These moves reflect a broader trend of institutional treasury diversification into digital assets, believing Bitcoin offers uncorrelated returns and an inflation hedge.
Europe’s Adoption Challenges
Despite these positive indicators, some industry leaders warn that Europe lags behind other regions in corporate Bitcoin uptake. Elise Fábrega, legal head at RWA token-platform Bricken, noted on March 29 that “enterprise adoption remains limited” in Europe, attributing this to conservative regulatory signals, institutional risk aversion, and nascent market infrastructure
. Regulatory clarity remains uneven across EU member states, and the full implementation of MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) is still underway.
Market Impact and Trends
The announcement of potential nation-state adoption spurred immediate market response: on June 22, 2025, BTC/EUR trading volume on Kraken jumped by 9 %, hitting $3.2 billion, while crypto-linked equities such as MicroStrategy (MSTR) rose 2.5 % to $1,455 per share
. This correlation underscores how policy developments can drive both spot crypto markets and related equity performance.
Conclusion
Samson Mow’s engagement with Sarah Knafo and France’s recent institutional purchases mark a pivotal moment in Europe’s journey toward mainstream Bitcoin acceptance. By exploring frameworks like a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and nurturing “friendly regulations,” France may well ignite a broader continental wave of adoption. However, structural constraints—from regulatory fragmentation to market immaturity—must be addressed to sustain momentum. As Europe watches France’s next steps, crypto investors and practitioners should stay attuned to evolving policy signals, institutional movements, and market reactions that will define the next chapter of digital-asset integration on the continent.
