The French look at crypto with curiosity, but from afar. According to the Crypto Trust Index carried out by Pollfish for the neobank bunq in April 2026 among 1,000 people in France, 32% have already investedin cryptocurrencies, but one in five French people say they are interested without daring to take the plungedue to lack of sufficient knowledge. Among those who abstain, the dominant brakes are the fear of volatility (48%), distrust of platforms (35%) and, precisely, the lack of understanding (33%).
However, it is often this lack of benchmarks that costs the most at the time of the first purchase. “For years this industry has been shaped by insiders, for insiders, creating a veritable obstacle at entry and leads to costly errors”observes Joe Wilson, Chief Evangelist at bunq. From the first order passed in a hurry to the forgotten tax declaration, here are the five beginner mistakes to be aware of — and the reflexes to neutralize them.
Mistake #1: launching too quickly and too big
This is the most common pitfall. Buoyed by a rising price or by the enthusiasm of a loved one, the beginner immediately commits a large sum to an asset over which he or she has no control or control. volatility nor the operation. A decline of 20 to 30% in a few days, commonplace on the crypto market, is then enough to transform a first step into a traumatic experience – and to cause a resale at a loss, in panic.
The parade is in a word: progressiveness. “The best advice is to start small, even with one euro, to see how it all works, progress at your own pace and gain confidence before committing more.”recommends Joe Wilson. Test the interface, understand the mechanism of orderobserve a first variation on a symbolic bet: so many steps which avoid gambling your savings on a reflex.
Mistake #2: Underestimating costs
On paper, buying crypto seems free. In fact, several layers of costs pile up, often difficult to read: the spread(difference between purchase price and sale price), the transaction fees taken by the platform, sometimes filing fees by card and network fees (“gas fees”) when withdrawing to an external wallet. Combined, they can reduce a first investment by several percent, or, on a stake of 5,000 euros, the equivalent of several hundred euros gone even before the first capital gain.
“The real problem is not the costs in themselves: this is the difficulty that certain platforms have in making them visible”points out the leader of bunq, who delivers a golden rule for novices: “If a platform doesn’t show the total cost of the transaction before clicking ‘Confirm’, simply don’t use it.” The good reflex therefore consists of requiring, supported by a validation screen, the net amount actually debited before confirming an order.
Mistake #3: Falling for the fake advisor scam
It is, by far, the most ruinous. The AMF (Financial Markets Authority) estimates the average loss declared by the victims investment scams, and between 50,000 and 100,000 euros in certain cases from fictitious crypto and Forex platforms. The scenario is now established. “Fake advisor scams are extremely common at the moment. They usually start with an unsolicited message on a social network, sent by someone posing as an expert in cryptocurrencies”describes Joe Wilson. Gaining confidence, the target is oriented towards a platform fraudulent or asked to transfer funds directly. “Once the transfer is made, the money is lost forever.”
Three reflexes cut short thescam : never follow financial advice from a stranger on social networks; do not communicate their identifiers to anyone; and only use regulated platforms, checking that they are not on the AMF blacklist. Distinctive sign of fraudsters: the request for payment by recharge coupons prepaid (Neosurf, PCS), assimilated to cash and therefore irrecoverable once the codes have been transmitted.
Mistake No. 4: neglecting taxation
Many beginners are unaware that a crypto gain is declared. Capital gains realized by an individual during a conversion into euros (or a payment in crypto) are subject to the flat tax, increased to 31.4% since January 1, 2026 — compared to 30% previously — under the effect of the increase in social security contributions. Please note: A crypto to crypto exchange is not taxableand transfers remain exempt as long as their annual total does not exceed 305 euros.
The real trap is elsewhere:reporting obligation. Any account held on a foreign platform (Binan, Coinbase, Kraken, etc.) must be declared each year via the form 3916-bisunder penalty of fine of 750 euros per undeclared accountincreased to 1,500 euros for assets exceeding 50,000 euros. Capital gains are reported via forms 2086 and 2042 C.”We often find ourselves in a difficult situation simply because we ignored the rules.”summarizes Joe Wilson, who insists on a prerequisite: “To report correctly, you must first have a clear overview of your transactions.” Hence the interest, from the first purchase, of keeping an exportable history of all its operations.
Mistake #5: Losing Access to Your Wallet
It is the most brutal error, because the most definitive. Whoever holds his cryptos himself in a “non-custodial” wallet (Ledger or MetaMask type) bears sole responsibility: a forgotten password or a recovery phrase (the twelve to twenty-four words of the “seed phrase”) misplaced, and the funds become inaccessible, without any customer service to restore them.
Two schools oppose each other here. The self-hosted wallet offers full control but zero safety net. The “custodial” solution, where a platform keeps the keys for the user, eliminates this risk of loss at the cost of delegating custody. “The simplest and safest method is to use a reliable application that takes care of the security and safekeeping of funds.”argues Joe Wilson — it being understood that bunq markets precisely this type of integrated offer. For those who choose self-preservation despite everything, the rule is invariable: write down your recovery phrase offline, in duplicate, and never enter it on a site or entrust it to anyone.
The tax rates, thresholds and obligations cited are subject to the regulations in force in 2026 and may change; the option for the progressive scale of income tax may, depending on the case, prove to be more advantageous than the flat tax. Investments in crypto-assets present a high risk of capital loss and are not regulated in the same way as traditional investments. For any specific asset or tax situation, recourse to an independent advisor is recommended.
