France’s growing financial deficit could push its central bank toward more money printing, a move that some believe may unlock billions in fresh capital for Bitcoin.
The Banque de France (BdF) posted a net loss of €7.7 billion ($8 billion) in 2024, largely due to negative net interest income driven by high interest payments, according to a March 2025 press release. This loss added to France’s wider government deficit, which reached €168 billion ($176 billion) in 2024, about 5.8% of GDP, far above the EU’s 3% threshold.
The shortfall puts France among the eurozone’s weakest performers and highlights growing capital outflows from the country.
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, argued that the situation could lead the European Central Bank (ECB) to print “trillions of euros” in new liquidity, a scenario he sees as bullish for Bitcoin, now trading around $116,458.
Foreign Ownership and QE Risks
Roughly 60% of France’s bonds and debt are held by foreign investors, with Germany and Japan standing as the largest holders. The country’s mounting fiscal deficit could push the European Central Bank (ECB) toward quantitative easing (QE) — a policy where central banks purchase bonds and inject liquidity into the economy to stimulate growth during sluggish conditions.
In the past, such measures have fueled major rallies in Bitcoin. During the last round of QE, Bitcoin’s price surged more than 1,050%, climbing from around $6,000 in March 2020 to $69,000 by November 2021, following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s $4 trillion bond-buying program launched on March 23, 2020.
