BNP Paribas is expanding its investment lineup in France by launching six crypto-linked exchange-traded notes (ETNs) that track the prices of Bitcoin and Ether. The regulated notes will be available to retail clients from Monday through standard securities accounts and Hello bank!, the group’s digital platform, with a potential extension to wealth-management clients outside France in the future.

According to the bank, these ETNs provide a regulated way to gain exposure to crypto price movements without owning the underlying assets. They are described as carrying issuer credit risk (if BNP Paribas were to fail, investors could lose money), but offer no tracking error and certain tax advantages compared with direct crypto ownership. The move underscores BNP Paribas’ broader push into digital assets and its ongoing exploration of blockchain-enabled finance.

Key takeaways

BNP Paribas launches six crypto-linked ETNs in France, tracking BTC and ETH, accessible via standard securities accounts and Hello bank!.
ETNs provide regulated crypto price exposure without direct asset ownership, but entail issuer credit risk and potential tax advantages relative to holding crypto directly.
The rollout aligns with BNP Paribas’ broader digital-asset strategy, including past milestones in tokenization and blockchain collaborations.
European adoption of crypto-linked ETNs is accelerating, with ING Germany expanding its lineup and the UK reintroducing crypto ETNs to retail investors after regulatory changes.

A regulated path to crypto exposure

The six ETNs are indexed to Bitcoin and Ether, offering investors a way to track the digital assets’ price movements without custodying the coins themselves. BNP Paribas stated the notes will be available from Monday via standard securities accounts and Hello bank!, and the offering is open to individual investors, entrepreneurs, private banking clients and Hello bank! users. The bank indicated the rollout could later extend to wealth-management clients outside France.

BNP Paribas framed the products as a regulated gateway to crypto exposure, contrasting with direct purchases from crypto exchanges. While ETNs carry issuer credit risk—a default by the issuer could impact principal—the notes are described as having no tracking error and certain tax advantages compared with holding crypto directly, according to the issuer’s description.

BNP Paribas’s broader digital-asset push

The launch sits within BNP Paribas’ broader strategy to integrate digital assets into its operations. In 2024, the bank arranged and placed Slovenia’s first digital sovereign bond, marking the European Union’s debut in blockchain-based government debt issuance. The move signaled a continued push into tokenization and blockchain-enabled finance across public and private markets.

BNP Paribas has also deepened its participation in the Canton ecosystem. The bank joined the Canton Foundation, alongside HSBC, to govern the Canton Network—a blockchain-focused initiative aimed at institutional finance and real-world asset tokenization. In parallel, BNP Paribas Asset Management supported Digital Asset’s Canton-driven initiatives and, more recently, launched a tokenized share class of a money-market fund on the Ethereum blockchain to explore fund tokenization using public infrastructure. The bank’s broader activity in tokenization extends from public networks to earlier private blockchain issuances in Luxembourg.

Europe’s growing appetite for crypto ETNs

The appetite for crypto-linked ETNs is broadening across Europe. In Germany, ING began adding new products from Bitwise and VanEck to its investment lineup, expanding access to regulated notes that provide crypto exposure through traditional channels. In the United Kingdom, crypto ETNs re-entered the retail market in October 2025 after the Financial Conduct Authority reversed a ban it had imposed in 2021, signaling a shift toward regulated access for retail investors.

As major banks expand regulated crypto offerings and public-blockchain pilots, observers are watching how these products scale beyond domestic markets and how evolving regulatory guidance shapes investor protections, tax treatment, and product design. The path forward will likely hinge on issuer risk management, cross-border distribution, and the degree to which traditional financial infrastructure can accommodate evolving crypto assets at scale.

Keep an eye on whether BNP Paribas expands the ETN rollout beyond France, how European regulators refine rules around crypto-linked notes, and what these developments imply for wider adoption of regulated crypto access across the region.