Quick insight series, Top 10 Digital Asset Trends – Anne Maréchal, De Gaulle Fleurance, Paris

Date: 05 Nov 2025

Karen Jones

This week’s Top 10 Digital Asset Trends is dedicated to Anne Maréchal, a partner at De Gaulle Fleurance in Paris, France, bringing over 30 years of experience in financial markets law, mergers and acquisitions, and asset management.

What’s your current assessment of the digital asset market, and how is macroeconomic or regulatory uncertainty affecting sentiment among private wealth clients?

The digital asset market has entered a new phase of maturity and regulation. It is now possible to operate an investment firm directly on the blockchain and to offer, through a single platform, not only crypto-assets but also tokenised financial instruments such as shares, bonds, fund units or through those financial instruments, real estate, gold, art or even carbon credits—provided the operator holds the appropriate authorisations as a CASP, an investment firm or under the EU Pilot Regime.

The tokenisation of assets is transforming the investment landscape by eliminating or reducing intermediaries, improving efficiency and costs, and opening access to new categories of investors.

Fundraising through crypto-assets, which had boomed during the ICO wave of 2016–2018, is also likely to re-emerge as a significant financing channel for innovative companies.

Traditional financial markets are being reshaped by on-chain settlement models. Contracts are being negotiated between established exchanges and major blockchains to allow the direct trading of regulated financial instruments, with real-time settlement and transparent custody.

Asset management is also undergoing rapid change, with a surge in ETF activity in the U.S. and a growing appetite for blockchain-based management tools that promise faster execution, lower costs and greater transparency.

Overall, beyond macroeconomic uncertainties, this new regulatory framework is reassuring and strengthening the confidence of private clients, in Europe and the United States. Uncertainty remains in less regulated jurisdictions, but the long-term direction of travel is clearly towards integration of digital assets into mainstream finance.

How are recent policy changes in the U.S., EU, or Asia influencing crypto adoption or caution in the private client space?

In this field, Europe was ahead of the curve. The French PACTE law of 2019 provided a pioneering legal foundation for crypto-asset service providers that inspired the European MiCA regulation, in force since January 2025.

 With MiCA, the crypto-asset sector has entered a fully regulated world, allowing serious players to operate with clarity and investor protection. In parallel, the United States has recently taken decisive steps with the adoption of the Genius Act on stablecoins and the drafting of the Clarity Act, both drawing heavily on MiCA’s structure. This convergence is positive for global players. While the U.S. is now catching up rapidly, Europe’s early foresight remains an asset. MiCA will no doubt evolve (a “MiCA 2” is expected, although not immediately), but this process is part of healthy regulatory maturation. The new landscape should be viewed not as a constraint, but as a foundation for trust, innovation and long-term adoption.

The effect on the private client market is clear. Regulation builds confidence. Wealth managers and family offices now have a secure framework to offer exposure to digital assets, from Bitcoin-based products to tokenised funds. The regulatory momentum also reinforces the appeal of tokenisation as a lever for financial inclusion, making previously inaccessible products, such as private funds or real estate, available in fractional, affordable formats.

What role are digital assets currently playing in the portfolios of HNWIs and family offices — speculative, hedging, or strategic?

Crypto-assets are now clearly seen as a means of diversifying portfolios or boosting cash management in the hope of obtaining higher returns.

How are wealth managers integrating crypto and blockchain-based products into diversified portfolios for their clients?

Wealth managers are facing growing demand from their clients. They can now respond to this demand by advising clients to deal exclusively with MiCA-regulated players in order to avoid fraud. The risk of volatility remains, but the regulation of players ensures the reliability of these intermediaries.

Are there specific tokens, protocols, or segments (DeFi, stablecoins, real-world assets) that you see gaining traction among private investors in 2025?

Several segments are attracting particular attention from private investors in 2025. Stablecoins have achieved record transaction volumes, surpassing those of Visa and Mastercard combined in 2024 and are benefiting from the regulatory recognition brought by MiCA and the Genius Act.

Tokenised real-world assets, such as real estate, corporate bonds or money-market funds, are also gaining ground. In France, several fund managers have already launched tokenised money-market funds on Ethereum and Polygon, paving the way for broader adoption.

Meanwhile, the European Pilot Regime is allowing the emergence of DLT-based market infrastructures. These platforms, such as 21X AG or LISE/Kriptown, will enable the trading and settlement of tokenised securities without traditional intermediaries.

Collectively, these innovations are making investment more democratic, liquid and transparent.

How do you see the evolution of ESG frameworks and sustainability intersecting with blockchain and digital assets?

The intersection between ESG and blockchain is particularly promising. By enabling traceable and verifiable flows of information, blockchain technology offers a powerful tool for transparency and accountability in sustainable finance.

 It also facilitates access to green investment opportunities through tokenisation. One example is the French company, Dowgo, which is developing a tokenised financing platform for renewable energy projects. Built on the Polygon blockchain, it allows investors, both institutional and retail, to acquire fractional shares in green infrastructure, with returns paid in stablecoins and certified ESG performance data.

Tokenisation and carbon credit trading projects are also being developed with the aim of making this market much more efficient.

This approach combines accessibility, regulatory compliance and impact monitoring, illustrating how tokenisation can broaden participation in the energy transition while reinforcing trust in ESG reporting.

What are the key risks private clients should be aware of in crypto markets — and how can advisors mitigate them?

Despite growing maturity, crypto markets still carry risks.
To mitigate these risks and create an integrated transatlantic market, advisors must guide clients towards regulated platforms and cybersecurity audited systems, ensure robust custody arrangements, diversify exposures, and provide clear education on both the potential and the limitations of digital assets.

Have expectations changed in terms of custody, access, or transparency in crypto wealth management solutions?

Yes, expectations have evolved dramatically. Institutional-grade custody is now seen as essential, with clear segregation of assets, audited reserves and compliance with prudential rules.

Blockchain’s intrinsic transparency also sets new standards for reporting and traceability.

The recent U.S. Genius Act further reinforces the importance of transparency, requiring stablecoin issuers to meet strict reserve and disclosure criteria.

As a result, investors increasingly expect crypto-wealth solutions to combine technological efficiency with regulatory robustness and auditability.

In what ways are you seeing private banks or trustees adapting to the inclusion of digital assets in estate planning and fiduciary conversations?

Private banks are beginning to adapt their practices to accommodate digital assets in wealth and estate planning. They are developing internal expertise and slowly incorporating digital-assets.

Major institutions such as Société Générale Forge, HSBC (with its Orion platform) and BNP Paribas (with Neobonds) are paving the way by building regulated infrastructures for tokenised securities and for issuing stablecoins.

These initiatives will enable them to hold, administer and transfer digital assets under compliant and auditable conditions.

Banks now consider that they must offer cryptocurrency services because their customers are asking for them. They are now considering applying for MiCA approval, knowing that they benefit from a simplified procedure (Article 60 of the MiCA Regulation) that facilitates their access to this new market.

What innovations or infrastructure developments (e.g. tokenisation, ETFs, compliance tools) do you believe are most important to the future of crypto in private wealth?

The future of crypto in private wealth management will hinge on three pillars: regulation, infrastructure and interoperability.

The MiCA and EU Pilot Regime are establishing the foundations for regulated on-chain markets.

Tokenisation platforms and ETFs are bridging traditional and digital finance, making exposure to blockchain-based assets accessible through familiar formats.

At the same time, new compliance and transparency tools are building confidence among regulators and investors alike.

These advances, combined with the development of interoperable, compliant stablecoins, could anchor digital assets firmly within the private-wealth universe.

All of these innovations will revolutionise private wealth management and more globally the finance world in all its aspects.

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