German Crypto Exchanges Must Report User Activity to Tax Authorities

Crypto exchanges in Germany are now required to report user activity to the Federal Central Tax Office, and for the first time, this includes data on purchases, sales, and swaps. The Kryptowerte-Steuertransparenzgesetz (KStTG) is the law behind this reporting requirement, which applies to the 2026 calendar year.

The report contains aggregated gross amounts per crypto-asset, including the sum of purchases, sales, and market value of swaps. However, it does not include individual transaction details or profit calculations. This means that active traders may see their reported totals significantly higher than their actual portfolio values.

A worked example illustrates this point: if an investor transfers 5,000 euros to buy Bitcoin in January and engages in multiple counter-value transactions throughout the year, their report will show a gross total of around 100,000 euros, while their actual gain is only 800 euros. The largest figure in the data set is about 120 times the size of the gain.