Bundestag Passes Law to Share Crypto Trading Data Across Borders for Tax Purposes

The Bundestag has passed a law introducing international information exchange for cryptocurrency trading, implementing the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) into German law. The move gives tax authorities a structured, automatic channel for cross-border data on crypto transactions, replacing a system that had previously relied largely on information requests and voluntary disclosures from taxpayers.

The legislation follows an international agreement Germany signed with 26 other states in November 2024 to combat cross-border tax evasion. CARF, developed by the OECD, sets a common reporting standard that requires crypto service providers to collect and pass on tax-relevant information about their customers.

What will be reported

Under the framework, providers must gather names, addresses, birth dates, tax identification numbers and country of residence for customers using their platforms. Beyond identifying details, authorities will also receive data on which cryptocurrencies were traded, the total value of transactions, and the number of reportable transactions carried out by each customer.

That marks a significant shift from the previous approach, under which German tax authorities had limited visibility into activity conducted on foreign exchanges and depended on taxpayers to disclose such holdings themselves or on formal requests to other jurisdictions.

Timeline and scope

The automatic exchange of this data between participating states is planned to begin in September 2027, giving crypto service providers and tax administrations a multi-year runway to build the necessary reporting infrastructure.

Germany has stressed that the decision does not alter existing tax rules for cryptocurrencies. The law changes how information reaches the tax authorities, not what is taxable or at what rate. For holders of crypto assets, the practical effect is less about new obligations on paper and more about a sharply reduced ability to keep foreign trading activity out of view of domestic tax offices.

With 27 states already committed to the underlying agreement, the German law positions the country within a broader European and international push to close gaps that crypto trading had opened in traditional tax reporting regimes, which were built around banks and conventional financial intermediaries rather than crypto exchanges and wallet providers.