Greece’s parliament approved legislation on Thursday introducing a 10% tax on cryptocurrency capital gains and a 15% tax on income from staking, crypto lending and decentralized finance (DeFi), according to a Decrypt report published on November 7, 2026, at 04:36 +08:00.
The crypto income-tax rules are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027. They form part of a broader Finance Ministry package covering debt servicing, financial oversight and government accounting.
How the gains tax will work
Individual investors with annual net crypto gains of €500 ($557) or less will be exempt. Above that threshold, the 10% rate applies to the entire gain—not just the portion exceeding €500.
An investor with €600 ($669) in net gains, for example, would owe €60 ($67), rather than €10 ($11).
Gains will generally be calculated by subtracting an asset’s acquisition cost from the value received when it is disposed of. Selling Bitcoin for euros is a taxable event, but using crypto to buy goods or services can also qualify as a disposal. Investors will need transaction records documenting acquisition costs and asset values when sold or spent.
According to the Finance Ministry, returns from staking, lending and providing liquidity to DeFi protocols will instead be classified as interest income, taxed at 15%.
Qualifying crypto losses exceeding €500 ($557) can be carried forward for five years to offset future crypto gains. The legislation also provides a 12-month window for voluntarily declaring previously unreported crypto income without late-filing penalties or interest, subject to its conditions and payment within 60 days of filing.
Token-to-token trades remain a legal question
The government’s stated intention is that exchanging one cryptocurrency for another should not itself trigger capital-gains tax. However, parliament’s Scientific Service warned that the approved wording may not clearly deliver that exemption.
Its review flagged broad language covering disposals made “for consideration,” which could encompass token-to-token trades even though the accompanying explanation says such swaps should not generate taxable gains. The reviewers recommended an explicit exemption, alongside clearer treatment of exchanges involving stablecoins and electronic-money tokens.
That leaves uncertainty for investors switching between crypto assets without converting them into fiat currency.
Administrative guidance still pending at publication
The legislation followed a public consultation in October 2026. The draft’s proposed 10% capital-gains rate was below the 15% levy Greek officials had discussed in June.
A senior Finance Ministry official told Reuters that guidance on transaction transparency and tax audits would be issued in the coming weeks. At the time of the report, the government had not estimated expected tax revenue. Officials said the market was difficult to measure because many Greek crypto investors used overseas trading platforms.
Original source: Decrypt, published November 7, 2026, at 04:36 +08:00.