Greece Passes 10% Crypto Capital Gains Tax and Market-Watch Powers for Unlicensed Providers

Greece's Hellenic Parliament on 5 November 2026 voted through a Ministry of National Economy and Finance bill that creates a dedicated tax regime for crypto-assets and gives the Hellenic Capital Market Commission stronger tools against unlicensed online crypto and investment offers. The Parliament's legislative record lists the bill as voted ("Ψηφισθέν Νομοσχέδιο") on that date; the Government Gazette text was still pending orthographic corrections when the record was checked.

Part B of the bill (articles 42 to 57) amends the Income Tax Code, the Property Tax Code and the indirect-tax code. For natural persons, capital gains on crypto-asset transfers are taxed at a special 10% rate, with a €500 annual net-gain exemption, while income from crypto lending, DeFi yield mechanisms and staking is treated as interest. The core income-tax rules apply for tax years beginning on or after 1 January 2027.

What the New Tax Rules Do

Article 48 inserts a new Article 42B into the Income Tax Code (Law 4172/2013). It defines a crypto-asset as a digital representation of value or a right that can be transferred and stored electronically using distributed-ledger or similar technology, including tokens of any kind. The definition tracks MiCA terminology but is not limited to tokens inside MiCA's regulatory perimeter.

A taxable transfer covers exchanging crypto-assets for money, disposing of them for goods or services, and contributing them to corporate or share capital. The bill's accompanying analysis states that a crypto-to-crypto exchange is not a transfer for income-tax purposes, so gain crystallises when crypto is converted into money or spent. Gain is the difference between acquisition and transfer prices, with directly related costs included; successive purchases use an average acquisition price; if the acquisition price cannot be shown, it is treated as zero.

Article 50 sets the Article 42B rate at 10%, below the ordinary 15% capital-gains rate. Net annual gains of up to €500 after loss offset are exempt; if the net amount exceeds €500, the whole gain is taxed from the first euro. Losses above €500 may be carried forward for five years, but only against future crypto transfer gains. Article 47 brings income from crypto lending, participation in decentralised liquidity or yield protocols, and locking crypto in validation mechanisms (staking) into the definition of interest, valued in euro when paid in crypto. Buying crypto becomes an acquisition-of-assets expense for the living-expense rules, and crypto transfers are taken out of the "three similar trades in six months" business-activity presumption.

Who Is Affected and When

The framework covers individuals who hold, transfer or earn yield on crypto-assets, employees or shareholders who receive crypto as benefits in kind, and heirs or donees who receive crypto by inheritance, gift or parental provision. Platforms and other intermediaries that issue transaction records are the expected source of price evidence, alongside ledger data. Inheritance, gift and parental-gift rules treat crypto as intangible movable property situated abroad and value it on recognised trading platforms on the day before the tax liability arises, for liabilities from 1 January 2027.

Article 304 adds a transitional paragraph to Article 72 of the Income Tax Code so that the main crypto income-tax provisions, including Article 42B and the 10% rate, apply for tax years beginning on or after 1 January 2027. Article 49 opens a twelve-month voluntary-declaration window from the law's entry into force for gains and yield earned before the new rules apply: tax is paid within sixty days of filing, without Tax Procedure Code penalties or interest if paid on time, but declaring does not legitimise the source of the capital used to buy the assets. Sales of crypto-assets are also carved out of the Digital Transaction Duty.

Article 55 equips the Hellenic Capital Market Commission to act against unlicensed investment or crypto-asset services and unlawful public offers made through websites, apps, social media or phone. After a hearing — or provisionally without one in urgent cases — the Commission may ban the activity, order Greek users' access to the relevant sites or infrastructure to be blocked or redirected to a Commission warning page, and maintain a public list of unlicensed providers. Internet access, hosting and online platforms must comply without delay, and the national telecoms regulator must notify the Commission weekly of new .gr and .ελ domain names for keyword screening.

What Happens Next

The next formal step is publication in the Government Gazette (FEK), after which the voluntary-declaration clock can start and secondary decisions can follow. The bill authorises the Governor of the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), after opinions from the Capital Market Commission and the Bank of Greece, to set documentation and record-keeping rules for Article 42B. Capital Market Commission decisions, after consultation with the telecoms regulator, will detail the online enforcement and domain-name controls.

Until FEK publication and those decisions appear, the voted text and the Parliament's impact analysis are the clearest primary account of the rules Greek taxpayers and platforms should plan for from tax year 2027. Holders who sold or earned yield before the new income-tax rules take effect need to decide whether to use the voluntary window. Providers serving Greek users should expect closer online supervision once the Commission's new powers are in force. The same omnibus law also transposes several EU financial directives; those parts are outside this note.