France’s over $176 billion budget deficit may signal trillions of euros of newly printed money, potentially leading to more capital flowing into Bitcoin, according to Arthur Hayes
The ballooning financial deficit of France’s central bank may spur a new wave of money printing, potentially unlocking billions in new capital for Bitcoin.
France’s central bank, the Banque de France (BdF), reported a net loss of 7.7 billion euros ($8 billion) in fiscal year 2024, mainly driven by negative net interest income due to high interest payments, according to a press release published in March 2025.
This brought France’s government deficit to over 168 billion euros ($176 billion) in 2024, representing 5.8% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), significantly exceeding the European Union’s 3% limit.
France’s central bank is now among the bloc’s worst performers, with the shortfall signaling capital outflows from the country.
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, believes that France’s financial deficit may catalyze “trillions of euros” of money printing by the European Central Bank (ECB), signaling fresh liquidity flowing into Bitcoin
“French capital is leaving France. And if you take a look at the gross change of any other member, it’s the worst,” Hayes told Cointelegraph during an interview at TOKEN2049 in Singapore. “The real threat is French capital leaving for Germans and Japanese investing in their home markets, because the US is changing the world order.”
“That is what predicates the ECB to print now or print later in the trillions of euros. And that’s the aggregate size,” Hayes said. “Another great thing for crypto.”
