Petition submitted to preserve the tax holding period for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies
The preparations are complete: On May 30, 2026, the Bundestag petition to preserve the tax holding period for cryptocurrencies was officially submitted.
The petition aims to prevent the existing tax treatment of Bitcoin and other crypto assets from being worsened for private individuals.
What is the petition about?
The petition is entitled:
“Preservation of the tax holding period for private sales transactions with crypto assets (especially Bitcoin)”
Specifically, the petition calls on the German Bundestag to retain the existing regulation in accordance with Section 23 of the Income Tax Act (EStG) unchanged.
In particular:
- the existing one-year holding period,
- the tax exemption of capital gains should not be abolished after this period has expired,
- and the previous classification of crypto assets as “other assets” should be expressly retained.
The petition is thus directed against political plans that provide for the permanent taxation of profits from Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies regardless of the holding period.
What happens now?
The formal examination by the Petitions Committee of the German Bundestag begins with the submission.
This involves checking whether the petition meets the requirements for a public ePetition and can be published on the Bundestag’s official petition platform.
Based on previous experience, this review process can take around two to three weeks.
We therefore currently expect that a decision on the activation of the petition could be made in mid-June 2026.
Then the decisive phase begins
As soon as the petition is activated, the official signing period begins.
From this point on, there will be a total of six weeks to get as many supporters as possible to sign the petition.
A particularly important target is 30,000 signatures. If this threshold is reached, it will significantly increase the political visibility of the issue and can influence the further parliamentary process.
The coming weeks will therefore be decisive in determining how strongly the Bitcoin and crypto community can make its voice heard in the political debate.
The ProHaltefrist initiative
Parallel to the petition, the Plattform:
👉 prohaltefrist.de
built up.
The website is intended to serve as a central point of contact for information on the petition and the discussion on the tax treatment of cryptocurrencies.
Among other things:
- Background information on the current legal situation,
- Arguments in favor of maintaining the holding period,
- Information on the petition procedure,
- Supporters of the initiative,
- as well as materials for media, companies and communities
provided.
The website will be officially activated as soon as the petition has been published by the German Bundestag.
Use the next few weeks
Preparations are in full swing until the petition is activated.
Companies, media, communities, podcasters, YouTubers, associations and other supporters are currently being approached in order to make the campaign as broad-based as possible.
Because as soon as the co-signing phase begins, every vote will count.
Anyone who would like to find out more about the initiative or become a supporter can contact the organizers of the initiative.
Together, we want to ensure that the existing tax holding period for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies is maintained.
Note: This article was written by a member or author of the Bitcoin Bundesverband and reflects their personal opinion. It does not necessarily represent the official position of the Bitcoin Bundesverband.
