Greece Drafts 15% Crypto Tax Bill, Miners Exempt

Greece’s Finance Ministry is drafting a bill that would impose a 15% capital gains tax on cryptocurrency profits. The information was reportedly shared with Reuters by some government officials. If passed, the bill would bring digital assets into the country’s formal tax code for the first time. It is expected to reach parliament in the coming months.

The planned regime includes a 500-euro ($580) exemption on gains, meaning residents would owe nothing on their first profits up to that amount, according to one of the officials. Individual cryptocurrency miners would also be exempt from the new levy; however, that carve-out was not extended to corporations engaged in mining. Both officials acknowledged a practical challenge: estimating the size of Greece’s crypto market is difficult, since most Greek investors trade through platforms based outside the country. No specific revenue projection for the new tax has been published.

EU member states each set their own rules on taxing digital assets, and the rates vary across the bloc. Cyprus charges 8% on crypto capital gains at the low end, while France applies rates as high as 30%. Greece’s proposed 15% would land roughly in the middle of that range. The bill is also arriving as Athens works to bring its domestic crypto framework in line with EU standards. Last August, the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC) overhauled its licensing regime for exchanges and wallet providers to align with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, as Cryptopolitan reported at the time. The rules require platforms to clear a formal licensing process that can take up to 40 working days, and unlicensed providers are barred from offering services in the country.

Greece’s regulatory push carries extra weight because Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by volume, chose the country as its EU base earlier this year. Binance co-CEO Richard Teng cited Greece’s talent pool and security environment when explaining the decision at the Global Finance & Technology Network forum in Tokyo, according to Reuters and Greek broadcaster ERT. The company applied for a MiCA license through the HCMC in January, and Greek regulators signaled they would fast-track the review, Cryptopolitan reported in February. The tax legislation would add another layer to an environment Athens is building to attract crypto business while keeping a closer eye on it.

The Waltio tax guide for Greece outlines the current framework, noting that gains from staking, mining, and airdrops fall under the progressive income tax scale rather than the flat 15% rate. That scale runs from 9% on the first 10,000 euros of income to 44% on amounts above 40,000 euros. Crypto-to-crypto swaps also count as taxable events, with the gain calculated at the moment of the exchange. Capital losses can be carried forward for five years to offset future gains, and the filing deadline for crypto-related income is June 30 of the year following the tax period, according to Waltio’s summary of the legislation.

The bill still needs to clear parliament, and final details could shift before submission. Investors trading through foreign platforms face an open question about enforcement, given that Greek authorities have acknowledged limited visibility into offshore activity — a familiar headache for taxmen chasing onchain money. The July 2026 MiCA licensing deadline for crypto firms across the EU will add further pressure on Athens to have its tax and regulatory fram