French international universal bank BNP Paribas is expanding its investment offering with six cryptocurrency-linked exchange-traded notes (ETNs), providing retail clients in France with access to exposure to Bitcoin and Ether through regulated products.
The recent ETNs, indexed to the price of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), will be available from Monday via standard securities accounts, According to to the company. The products can be used by individual investors, entrepreneurs, private banking clients and users of the Hello bank! bank’s digital platform. The rollout may later extend to wealth management clients outside France.
Unlike direct cryptocurrency purchases, ETNs allow investors to track the performance of digital assets without storing them. ETNs come with credit risk (if the bank fails, you lose money), no tracking errors, and tax benefits.
The move builds on the French bank’s broader push into digital assets. In 2024, BNP Paribas organized and placed the first digital treasury bond in Slovenia, which was the debut issue in the European Union of a government bond based on blockchain technology.
Related: Trading 212 enables UK retail trading of ETN cryptocurrencies without FCA approval: FT
BNP Paribas joins Canton Network
Last September, BNP Paribas and HSBC joined the Canton Foundation, which operates the Canton Network, a blockchain focused on institutional finance and real-world asset tokenization.
Previously, BNP Paribas joined Goldman Sachs, Citadel and other major financial players in supporting Digital Asset’s $135 million financing round. Digital Asset is the company behind Canton.
Last month also BNP Paribas Asset Management fired tokenized money market fund share class on the Ethereum blockchain, expanding its efforts to tokenize funds using public infrastructure. The move builds on a previous blockchain private placement in Luxembourg.
Related: The president of the German central bank praises the benefits for the EU related to stablecoins and CBDCs
Crypto ETN adoption is growing in Europe
The employ of crypto-linked ETNs is growing across Europe, with ING Germany adding recent products from Bitwise and VanEck to its investment offering.
Crypto ETNs also returned to the UK retail market in October 2025, after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) lifted the ban imposed in 2021.
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