Germany introduces taxation rules for cryptocurrency transactions

The Federal Ministry of Finance (BaFin) has published a 24-page document that sets out clear rules for taxation of profits from operations with cryptocurrencies and virtual assets. Tax practices, businesses and individual taxpayers now have clear guidance on the tax requirements for acquiring, trading and selling cryptocurrencies.

Individuals who sell BTC or ETH after 12 months of purchase will not pay tax, even if they make a profit on the sale. Parliamentary Secretary of State Katja Hessel also responded to questions regarding long-term staking of cryptocurrencies:

"For individuals, the sale of bitcoins and ethers purchased is not taxable after one year. The period is not extended to ten years if, for example, bitcoin has previously been used for credit or the taxpayer has provided ETH for someone else to stake for their block."