Greece approves 10% crypto gains tax and 15% levy on staking and DeFi income

Greece's parliament has approved a bill introducing tax on profits from cryptocurrency transactions. According to Decrypt, the rate is 10% of annual net gains exceeding €500 ($557). Income from stakingСтейкингStaking is locking up cryptocurrency on a Proof-of-Stake network to take part in transaction validation and earn rewards in the network's tokens., crypto lending and providing liquidityЛиквидностьLiquidity is the ability of an asset or cash to be quickly exchanged or paid out without a significant change in price or losses on the transaction. in DeFiDeFiDeFi (decentralized finance) is a set of financial services built on blockchains, where lending, trading, and yield generation run through smart contracts without banks or intermediaries. is subject to a separate 15% rate. The rules take effect on January 1, 2027. CoinDesk and Cointelegraph, in their reports, also confirm the 10% rate, the €500 threshold and a 12-month window for voluntary declaration.

How the tax is calculated

Private investors with annual net crypto gains of €500 or less are exempt. If the threshold is exceeded, the 10% rate applies to the entire gain, not just the amount above €500. Using Decrypt's example, a €600 ($669) gain would incur a €60 ($67) tax, not €10 ($11). Gains are calculated as the difference between the value received when an asset is disposed of and its acquisition cost.

Disposal can include not only selling bitcoinБиткоинBitcoin (BTC) is the first and best-known decentralized cryptocurrency, running on its eponymous blockchain network with no central issuer or intermediary bank. for euros but also spending crypto on goods or services. Investors will need transaction records to prove what they paid for an asset and what it was worth at the time of sale or spending. Losses above €500 can be carried forward for five years and offset against future crypto gains.

Staking and DeFi: a separate rate

The Finance Ministry classifies income from staking, lending and providing liquidity in decentralized protocols as interest income, taxed at 15%. According to Decrypt, this differs from the capital-gains regime that applies to selling crypto.

The draft, discussed in a public consultation in October, proposed a 10% rate, already lower than the 15% that officials had discussed in June.

The crypto swap question

Athens says exchanging one cryptocurrency for another should not by itself trigger capital-gains tax. However, according to Decrypt, parliament's Scientific Service noted that the law's wording on disposals "for consideration" could cover token-to-token trades. The service recommended an explicit exemption and clearer rules for exchanges involving stablecoinsСтейблкоинA stablecoin is a crypto asset whose price is pegged to a fiat currency (most often the US dollar) and maintained by reserves or an algorithm. and electronic-money tokens. These details matter for traders who move between assets without cashing out to fiat.

Declaration and deadlines

The law gives investors 12 months to voluntarily declare previously unreported crypto income without fines or interest, provided they meet the requirements and pay within 60 days of filing. As Decrypt reported, citing Reuters, a senior Finance Ministry official promised guidance on transaction transparency and tax audits in the coming weeks.

The government has not estimated how much the tax will raise. Officials explain that the market is hard to measure because many Greek investors use trading platforms registered abroad.