The debate surrounding the tax treatment of Bitcoin and other crypto assets in Germany gained new momentum at the end of April. This was triggered by a SPIEGEL report on the key figures of the 2027 federal budget, which states that “changed taxation of cryptocurrencies” is also planned as part of new sources of revenue. However, the report does not provide any specific details. At the same time, SPIEGEL points out that the Ministry of Finance does not yet want to put a price tag on individual measures and refers to ongoing negotiations within the coalition.

The situation has therefore become more serious – but it is still not clear. Because unlike previous rumors, this time it is not an anonymous social media post, but a report on concrete budget considerations in the environment of the Federal Ministry of Finance. At the same time, it remains unclear what exactly is meant by “changed taxation”: the abolition of the one-year holding period, classification as capital income, new reporting or withholding mechanisms or some other form of fiscal tightening. The SPIEGEL report therefore proves that the issue has reached the government. However, it does not yet prove which model will ultimately be pursued politically.

The direction is not new – but the context is new

Politically, this development has not come out of nowhere. Back in March, BTC-ECHO reported that the SPD remains committed to subjecting profits from crypto assets to capital gains tax in the future. Frauke Heiligenstadt, the SPD’s financial expert, was associated there with the line that crypto profits should be treated like other investment income for reasons of equal taxation, tax fairness and transparency. At the same time, BTC-ECHO made it clear at the time that the rumors circulating about a deal already being finalized were still unfounded.

There is also another SPD signal from April: in a current position paper on payment transactions, the SPD relies heavily on the digital euro, cash and the reduction of external dependencies, according to BTC-ECHO. Crypto payments do not play a positive role in this strategy. This shows that The debate about Bitcoin taxes does not stand in isolation, but rather fits into a broader political picture in which state or European-controlled payment infrastructures are preferred and private crypto solutions are viewed with more political skepticism.

What’s new now

What is particularly new is that the issue is now apparently directly linked to the 2027 budget planning. SPIEGEL mentions the changed taxation of cryptocurrencies in the same breath as new levies on sugar, plastic, alcohol and tobacco. This suggests that cryptocurrencies are increasingly being seen in political Berlin not only as a regulatory or supervisory issue, but also explicitly as a potential source of revenue.

This is precisely what makes the current development so significant. For as long as the debate was primarily theoretical or party-political, it remained abstract for many observers. If the issue now becomes part of concrete budgetary considerations, the political pressure increases considerably. Budget holes create incentives to quickly look for new sources of funding. Bitcoin and other crypto assets are thus even more subject to the logic of fiscal exploitability.

Why the debate continues to be problematic

Even now, a central problem remains: The political demand for parity with traditional investment income sounds catchy, but is by no means technically compelling. Bitcoin is neither an interest-bearing asset nor a dividend-paying investment. There is no issuer, no ongoing cash flow and no classic income structure as with shares or bonds. Anyone who wants to categorize Bitcoin in the logic of capital gains tax is therefore not making a neutral clarification, but a deliberate reassessment of tax policy.

In addition, the SPD’s previous demands would amount to a genuine system change. According to current administrative practice, gains from privately held crypto assets are generally considered private sales transactions; after twelve months, they can be tax-free. The Federal Ministry of Finance has reconfirmed this basic line in 2025. A departure from this would therefore not merely be a technical adjustment, but a break with the previous tax framework.

Between rumor and government project

The current situation can therefore best be summarized as follows:

The spectacular rumors from March about a supposedly already completed political deal were not reliable. This was already apparent at the time. What is new now, however, is that a major leading media report explicitly mentions a planned change in the taxation of cryptocurrencies as part of the budget planning. This is more than just talk – but even less than a finished law.

Therefore, neither panic nor the all-clear is appropriate. The political direction is recognizable. The specific form it will take remains to be seen.

What this means for Bitcoin in Germany

For Bitcoin users, companies and long-term investors, this means one thing above all: the special tax position after a one-year holding period has come under real political pressure. At the beginning of 2026, BTC-ECHO already pointed out that although the one-year holding period still applies, investors are operating within an increasingly tighter tax framework – not only because of political reform plans, but also because of the new reporting obligations imposed by DAC8.

The combination of greater transparency, growing fiscal interest and political framing as a “justice issue” increases the likelihood that the topic will be pursued further. This is precisely why a clear public classification is needed now: anyone who views Bitcoin as merely an additional tax base is failing to recognize its importance as an open monetary network, an instrument of private wealth creation and a field of innovation for digital freedom.

Conclusion

The new reports from April 28 mark an important shift in the debate. For the first time, the changed taxation of cryptocurrencies is explicitly mentioned in the context of the German government’s budget planning. This is a political signal that must be taken seriously. At the same time, the decisive details are still missing: what specific reform is planned, how far it will go and whether it would be politically feasible is still unclear.

For the Bitcoin Bundesverband, the task therefore remains clear: to accompany the debate objectively, correct political misconceptions and make it clear that a tax system change for Bitcoin would not be a mere detail of budgetary law, but a far-reaching directional decision for wealth creation, innovation and location policy in Germany.