BNP Paribas to Roll Out Bitcoin and Ether ETNs for French Retail Clients

BNP Paribas, France's biggest bank, will list six new crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs) linked to Bitcoin and Ethereum on its French exchange platform from March 30, the group said. ETNs are listed debt instruments that track an index to provide market exposure without direct ownership of the underlying asset. They can offer liquid, diversified access, but investors remain exposed to issuer credit risk as well as market declines. The products will be offered under MiFID II, the EU framework aimed at improving transparency, standardising market practices and strengthening investor protections. BNP Paribas said the structure will allow millions of individual investors and private banking clients to gain indirect exposure to crypto assets without buying or holding the coins. At launch, the ETNs will be issued by selected asset managers and made available across multiple client segments. The bank plans a phased rollout to other markets. BNP Paribas has been an early adopter in blockchain experimentation, testing use cases in trade finance and securities settlement, partnering with fintech and blockchain firms, and signalling interest in digital-asset services for institutional clients. The group also backs research into how these technologies could reshape financial markets. The bank is part of Qivalis, a consortium of major European lenders developing a euro-pegged stablecoin for institutional and crypto use, targeting a late-2026 launch under the EU's MiCA regime. BNP Paribas also recently piloted the tokenisation of a money market fund share class on public Ethereum infrastructure. The proof of concept used a permissioned setup limiting access to eligible participants while remaining within regulatory requirements. The intra-group project is designed to test new operating workflows and assess how tokenisation could improve fund issuance and distribution. France's retail investing base has expanded in recent years. About 2.5 million French retail investors traded equities in 2025, and an estimated 1.6 million new entrants joined the market over the prior three years. If even a small share of roughly €2 trillion in liquid household savings shifts into these instruments, the flow impact on Bitcoin and Ethereum order books could be material.