Since August of last year, it is official: the Bundesregierung has submitted the draft for implementing DAC8—and this has real consequences for everyone who trades in crypto. DAC8 is essentially the European answer to the question of how tax authorities should be able to track crypto transactions in the future. Germany is implementing it now with the Kryptowerte-Steuertransparenzgesetz (KStTG).

Why is this important? Because starting in 2026, exchanges, brokers, and custody service providers will have to identify their customers more precisely and then report to the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern on a standardized basis. From there, the data will flow into an EU-wide exchange. It sounds complicated, but ultimately it comes down to this: Your transactions on regulated platforms will become more transparent in the future.

Who do you need to remember this for? Mainly providers. They must collect customer data, retain holding and transaction data, and report annually. For you as a private investor, that means something concrete: if you trade through an exchange or broker, your purchases and sales as well as deposits and withdrawals will be recorded and reported. This isn’t surprising—but it’s important to know.

One big point that many people misunderstand: self-custody remains self-directed. If you transfer coins directly from one wallet to another without involving a service provider, that doesn’t fall under DAC8. Only when a provider that is required to report is involved—such as when withdrawing from the exchange to your own wallet—do obligations arise for the provider. So your private wallet won’t be monitored.

What does all of this cost? The draft estimates one-off costs for the economy of about 9.3 million euros and ongoing bureaucracy costs of around 270,000 euros per year. The federal government itself invests about 31.9 million euros once, and then about 10.5 million euros each year. For citizens, an estimated total time burden of around 234,000 hours is calculated—which, however, mainly means documentation and organization.

Practically, you should start sorting your documents now: purchase receipts, sale receipts, proof of deposits and withdrawals—everything filed neatly. If you trade through regulated platforms, you even benefit from having the data available in a structured way there. And if you want to hold coins long-term, you should think about secure storage—separate from your trading wallet.

DAC8 is not a ban and it’s not real-time monitoring of private wallets. It’s about tax reporting by providers. Regardless, the rules in the crypto space are becoming stricter overall—not only through DAC8, but also through MiCA and other EU regulations. If you know that, you can make more conscious decisions about where and how you trade.

Conclusion: Starting in 2026, it will be mandatory for providers to report your data in a standardized way. For you, the main change is this—you should keep your documents properly maintained. Self-custody remains possible; DAC8 is not a control system for private wallets. If you have your documents together and consciously choose where and how you trade and how you store your coins, you’ll be well prepared for the new DAC8 rules.