Canada’s non-custodial Bitcoin exchange Bull Bitcoin has filed a legal challenge against France’s implementation of the EU’s DAC8 crypto tax reporting rules.
The company filed a summary petition with France’s Council of State back in February, followed by a full legal brief this week. Their argument? The decree creates a massive surveillance database that puts crypto holders at real physical risk.
DAC8, which took effect January 1, 2026, requires crypto service providers to collect user identity and transaction data and automatically share it with tax authorities across EU member states. Bull Bitcoin says this system builds a central database linking people’s legal identities and home addresses to transactions that may have nothing to do with taxes.
The exchange’s warning isn’t hypothetical. France has become a hotspot for so-called wrench attacks — physical assaults where criminals force victims to transfer crypto. French police recorded 41 crypto-related kidnappings since the start of 2026 alone. Globally, wrench attacks jumped 75% in 2025 to 72 verified cases, with France seeing the most incidents.
“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,” Bull Bitcoin said in its announcement.
The exchange said it would pursue every legal option to suspend, delay, or annul DAC8 and its global counterpart, the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF).
Major exchanges have also suffered data breaches recently. Coinbase disclosed in May 2025 that an attack on less than 1% of its monthly active users could cost the company up to $400 million in reimbursements.
