A French state-owned bank, Bpifrance, has built a $27 million fund for the acquisition of lesser-known cryptocurrencies, the bank announed Thursday.

The investment bank has taken a unique approach to investing in “little-known” digital assets issued by French projects, instead of top-performing cryptos like Bitcoin. Through the fund, the bank aims to support local crypto businesses.

Besides, the company said in a statement that investments will be targeted toward blockchain projects having “a strong French footprint.” It will cover areas, including decentralized finance (DeFi), tokenization, staking and artificial intelligence (AI), a Bloomberg report noted.

Per Arnaud Caudoux, deputy CEO of Bpifrance, the fund will target newly-created tokens before they are listed on crypto exchanges.

“The U.S. is really accelerating its own crypto strategy so this is all the more important,” he noted.

He added that the launch is “much more urgent” to make sure that France is not left behind in the global crypto run.

French State Bank-Backed Crypto Funds

Bpifrance has already invested €150 million ($161.8 million) in blockchain-related ventures. This includes “limited” investments in cryptos, however, this is the first time the bank has created a separate fund for crypto purchases.

Caudoux noted that Bpifrance’s move into crypto started well before the US’ recent pro-crypto shift.

“Bpifrance’s initiative is a strong signal of our determination to make France a country of excellence for these technologies,” said Clara Chappaz, French Minister Delegate for Digital and AI tech.

Additionally, the bank piloted traditional investments in 2022, including a deal with DeFi lending platform Morpho.

Source:BpifranceBpifrance Aims to Serve French Public Policy Objectives

Caudoux further projected that EU and the UK have “great engineers and great companies,” which play an important role in the future of Europe’s ecosystem. He highlighted how crypto firms are pivoting to the US, given its recent friendly regulations.

The announcement comes a week after France’s finance minister Eric Lombard said that Bpifrance would launch a €450 million ($490 million) defence-focused fund.

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