The phase in which crypto income was effectively invisible ended on 1 January 2026. Since then, crypto service providers in the EU report their users’ transaction data to the tax authorities — purchases, sales and pure swaps alike. This article describes exactly what is transmitted, and why the Georgian answer to it is not invisibility but a rate of zero.
What is transmitted
The legal basis is Directive (EU) 2023/2226, the eighth amendment to the EU Directive on Administrative Cooperation, known as DAC8, adopted on 17 October 2023. In Germany it is implemented through the Crypto-Asset Tax Transparency Act. It has applied since 1 January 2026.
Those obliged are crypto service providers — exchanges, brokers and wallet providers. They must identify their users comprehensively and report the tax-relevant transactions annually to the competent authority, in Germany the Federal Central Tax Office.
- Purchases and sales with timing, quantity and euro equivalent the obvious category
- Swaps between crypto-assets even where no euro ever moved — the most commonly underestimated point
- Identifying details of the user and their tax residence
- Automatic exchange between the authorities of member states the same mechanism as CRS for bank accounts
The second point carries the greatest practical consequence. Many investors assume a taxable event only arises once euro move. That is not true for reporting — and in many cases not true for taxation either.
DAC8 is not a special path but the transfer of a familiar principle: what the Common Reporting Standard has done for bank accounts for years, DAC8 now does for crypto-assets. The OECD created the framework for it with the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework.
What this means in practice
The Georgian answer is not invisibility
This is where sound advice separates from the rest of the industry, and it comes down to a single sentence: Georgia is not a place where crypto becomes invisible.
Georgia implemented the Common Reporting Standard in 2023 and automatic exchange has been running since 2024. Anyone resident in Germany who trades through a Georgian bank or exchange is reported — DAC8 changes nothing there, because the reporting was already happening.
What Georgia does deliver is something else, and it is entirely in the open:
| Residence in Germany | Residence in Georgia | |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting of transaction data in both cases: reported | Yes, via DAC8 since 2026 | Yes, via CRS since 2024 |
| Tax on disposal gains for private individuals Art. 82 Georgian Tax Code, territorial principle | Taxable under the general rules | 0% via foreign exchanges |
| VAT on the swap no difference | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Regulation of providers both legal systems are regulated, not lawless | MiCA and national supervision | VASP regulation by the National Bank |
| Precondition for the difference not the account opening but the residence | — | Actual tax residency on the ground |
The decisive row is the bottom one. The zero rate applies to private individuals with Georgian tax residency on income from foreign sources. It does not apply to someone living in Germany who opens a Georgian account. That distinction is the entire difference between a lawful model and a criminal investigation.
How tax residency arises is set out in Georgia Tax Residency; why a structure without a change of residence achieves nothing, in Account Seizure: How Far Enforcement Really Reaches; the details of the territorial principle in Georgia Territorial Taxation and on crypto treatment in Crypto in Georgia.
What follows from this
For those resident in Germany or Austria: declaring crypto income is no longer a question of detection probability. Anyone who declared incompletely for past years should work through it with a tax adviser before the first report surfaces in an assessment — not afterwards.
For those considering a move: the zero rate is real, but it hangs on residence, not on an account number. And the route there runs through exit taxation, whose mechanics are described in Staying Does Not Get Cheaper.
For everyone: “nobody sees that” is no longer an argument from 2026 onwards but a warning signal about the provider saying it.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly have crypto service providers reported since 2026?
Under Directive (EU) 2023/2226 (DAC8), implemented in Germany through the Crypto-Asset Tax Transparency Act, exchanges, brokers and wallet providers transmit purchases and sales with timing, quantity and euro equivalent as well as swaps between crypto-assets, in each case with identifying details of the user and their tax residence. In Germany the recipient is the Federal Central Tax Office.
Are crypto-to-crypto swaps covered as well?
Yes, and this is the most commonly underestimated point. The reporting obligation does not depend on whether euro moved. Many investors assume a tax-relevant event only arises on conversion into fiat — that is not true for reporting, and in many cases not for taxation either.
Does DAC8 create new taxes?
No. Crypto income was taxable before as well. DAC8 does not change the substantive law but the tax authority’s state of knowledge, and thus the probability that an incomplete declaration is noticed. Anyone who declared correctly notices practically nothing.
Does crypto stay invisible via a Georgian exchange?
No. Georgia implemented the Common Reporting Standard in 2023 and automatic exchange has run since 2024. Anyone resident in Germany trading through a Georgian institution is reported to the German authority. Georgia is not a place where crypto becomes invisible — anyone offering that is selling exposure to criminal liability.
How does one arrive at 0 percent then?
Through residence, not through the account. For private individuals with Georgian tax residency, income from foreign sources is tax-free under Art. 82 of the Georgian Tax Code, and that includes disposals via foreign exchanges. The precondition is actual tax residency — 183 days within a twelve-month period, or the programme for high-net-worth individuals. An account alone achieves nothing.
What should I do if past years were declared incompletely?
Work through it with a tax adviser, and do so before the first DAC8 report surfaces in an assessment. The options for a penalty-exempting voluntary disclosure are tied to conditions that fall away once the offence is discovered. Timing decides the legal consequence here — that is a question for qualified legal advice at home, not for a foreign service provider.
This article is general information and does not constitute legal or tax advice. The statements relate to Directive (EU) 2023/2226 (DAC8) of 17 October 2023, its German implementation in the Crypto-Asset Tax Transparency Act applying from 1 January 2026, the OECD Common Reporting Standard and the consolidated Georgian Tax Code (Art. 82). Crypto income must be declared in your country of residence. As of June 2026, subject to changes in the law.