Bull Bitcoin Challenges France's DAC8 Implementing Decree

The non-custodial Bitcoin exchange petitioned to annul a French decree implementing DAC8, arguing the rules could create surveillance and physical risks for up to 135 million European crypto holders.

Bitcoin exchange Bull Bitcoin said Wednesday that it had petitioned France's Council of State (Conseil d'État) to strike down a French decree implementing the European Union's DAC8 crypto tax reporting rules.

DAC8 requires crypto service providers to collect users' identity and transaction data and automatically report it to national tax authorities, which then exchange the information with their counterparts across EU member states. The directive went into effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

The exchange said in a Wednesday press release that DAC8 risks creating a “mass database” linking legal identity and home addresses, including transactions with no relevance to taxation.

“Against a backdrop of daily data leaks and a surge in kidnappings targeting crypto-asset holders, building such a database endangers the physical safety of millions of holders and their loved ones.”

Bull Bitcoin said it filed a summary petition before the Conseil d'État on Feb. 24, followed by a substantive legal brief outlining its arguments. The exchange said it intends to pursue “every legitimate avenue to suspend, delay, annul or amend the effects of DAC8 and its global counterpart, the CARF.”

The Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) is a global crypto tax reporting framework developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that provides a common standard for jurisdictions to collect and exchange information on crypto transactions.

Related: French couple robbed of $1M in Bitcoin by criminals posing as police

Under DAC8, crypto service providers must submit their first reports covering the 2026 calendar year by Sept. 30, 2027, after which tax authorities in EU member states will automatically exchange the information.

France implemented DAC8's crypto reporting rules through Decree No. 2025-1276, signed Dec. 19, 2025.

France has emerged as one of the countries most affected by so-called wrench attacks, in which victims are threatened or assaulted to force the transfer of digital assets. In April, RTL reported that French police had counted 41 crypto-related kidnappings since the start of 2026.

Wrench attacks increased by 75% in 2025 to 72 verified cases worldwide, according to cybersecurity company CertiK. France saw the most incidents during 2025, with 19 confirmed wrench attacks, while Europe accounted for roughly 40% of global incidents.

Bull Bitcoin’s warning also comes after major crypto firms have suffered customer data breaches. In May 2025, Coinbase said that less than 1% of its transacting monthly users were affected in an attack that may cost the exchange up to $400 million in reimbursement expenses.

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