Greece has approved a 10% tax on cryptocurrency gains, with annual profits up to €500 exempt and separate rules proposed for staking and decentralized finance (DeFi) income. The legislation, passed by parliament on Nov. 5, establishes the country's first comprehensive framework for taxing digital assets, with the new rules scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
Key provisions of the new framework
According to Reuters, annual cryptocurrency gains of up to €500 will be exempt, while investors exceeding that threshold will face taxation on their profits. The framework also allows qualifying losses to be carried forward for five years to offset future gains.
Under the finance ministry's October proposal, staking, lending and DeFi liquidity rewards would attract a 15% tax as interest income, separating those earnings from trading profits. The ministry also proposed exempting crypto-to-crypto swaps from immediate taxation, although parliamentary concerns about the final wording leave their treatment unresolved.
Transitional relief and enforcement challenges
The legislation provides a 12-month window for investors to voluntarily declare cryptocurrency gains from previous years without late-filing penalties or interest, subject to specified conditions.
The measure comes as Greek authorities struggle to monitor cryptocurrency activity conducted through overseas platforms. A senior finance ministry official reportedly said that the government could not estimate potential tax revenue because most domestic investors use foreign exchanges, making the market difficult to measure. Further directives covering transparency requirements and tax audits are expected in the coming weeks.
Greece joins Europe's widening crypto tax divide
Greece's new rate places it among Europe's lower-tax jurisdictions for cryptocurrency investors, even as several countries have increased taxes on digital asset profits. According to a Nov. 6 analysis by CryptoDiffer, Cyprus taxes crypto gains at 8%, while Belgium and Bulgaria apply 10% rates and Croatia charges 12%.
Other European countries have moved in the opposite direction. Italy increased its standard cryptocurrency capital-gains tax to 33% in 2026, while Romania raised its rate to 16%. Sweden imposes a 30% capital-gains tax on qualifying crypto profits.
However, some European jurisdictions offer investors exemptions based on how long they hold their assets. CryptoDiffer identified Germany and Portugal as exempting qualifying cryptocurrency gains after one year of holding, while Luxembourg applies a six-month threshold. Croatia offers an exemption after two years and Czechia after three. Switzerland, Slovenia and Malta were also identified as jurisdictions where qualifying private-investor crypto gains can be exempt from capital-gains tax.
These differences reflect Europe's fragmented approach to crypto taxation, with investors facing substantially different liabilities depending on their country, holding period and classification of investment activity.
