The letter from the German finance ministry is the first nationwide directive on the subject, stating that cryptocurrencies that have been staked or lent for more than a year are still tax-free. Individuals might also sell bitcoin (BTC) or ether (ETH) tax-free after one year of holding, according to Parliamentary State Secretary Katja Hessel. Mining, staking, lending, hard forks, and airdrops are all covered in this document.
The tax status of buying and selling bitcoin and ether is also discussed in the announcement. According to the guidance, the one-year timeframe also applies to bitcoin that has been leased out or used as a stake to build new Ethereum blocks by someone else. Hessel also said that cryptocurrency would not be eligible for the alternative ten-year holding period for non-mobile assets like property. According to the advice, income tax does not apply when redeeming utility tokens, which are crypto-assets that grant a specific privilege, such as access to a network or the ability to obtain a particular product. According to the finance ministry, redeeming the tokens does not count as a sale under income tax legislation, citing a 2018 court decision addressing bearer bonds.