Council Directive (EU) 2023/2226 of 17 October 2023, amending Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation (DAC8), establishes the first mandatory framework for the automatic exchange of information on crypto-assets at European Union level. From 1 January 2026, crypto-asset service providers must systematically report their clients' transactions to European tax authorities, which will automatically exchange that information between themselves.
Scope of DAC8: Which Assets and Which Providers
Digital Assets Subject to Reporting
DAC8 defines reportable crypto-assets in line with the definition of the MiCA Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114): any digital representation of value or rights that can be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology (DLT) or similar technology.
Subject to reporting:
- Cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.)
- Utility tokens
- Stablecoins (including CBDCs of non-EU states)
- Governance tokens
- NFTs (non-fungible tokens) above a certain threshold
Not subject to reporting: digital assets already reported under other frameworks (digital currencies of EU central banks — EU CBDCs — and assets with exclusively restricted use (loyalty tokens without external monetary value).
Entities Required to Report (CASPs)
Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs) required to report are those operating in the EU under MiCA authorisation or, even if established outside the EU, offering services to EU residents. CASPs include:
- Centralised exchanges (Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, etc.)
- Decentralised exchanges (DEXs) to the extent they are subject to MiCA
- Custody and digital wallet providers
- Crypto-asset transfer service providers
- Stablecoin issuers (e-money tokens and asset-referenced tokens)
- Institutional lending and staking platforms
Non-EU CASPs wishing to continue providing services to EU-resident clients must register in a Member State (proceeding with registration before the competent MiCA authority) and comply with DAC8 reporting obligations.
Information to be Reported
The CASP must report annually for each user (natural person or entity) who is tax-resident in the EU:
- Full name, date of birth, TIN (tax identification number in their Member State of residence), address and country of tax residence.
- For legal entities: company name, TIN, country of incorporation, permanent establishment where applicable.
- Per asset type: total consideration received for disposals (sales, exchanges, payments) and number of transactions.
- Fair market value at year-end of assets held in custody.
- Transfers to non-custodial wallets (user’s cold wallets) by aggregate amount.
The information is reported by the client’s Member State of residence, so each tax authority receives only the data relating to its own residents. Automatic exchange between authorities takes place within two months of submission (deadline: 30 June of the year following the reference tax year).
Transposition in Spain: Amendment of the General Tax Law
Spain was required to transpose DAC8 before 31 December 2025. Transposition is achieved through amendment of Additional Provision 13 of Law 58/2003 (General Tax Law, Ley General Tributaria), which already regulates information obligations relating to virtual currencies, and through the creation of a new specific reporting model for CASPs operating in Spain.
Spain’s new crypto-asset reporting framework includes three models:
- Modelo 721: declaration of assets and rights held abroad related to virtual currencies. Annual submission in January of the following year.
- Modelo 172: information declaration on virtual currencies held abroad, for natural persons resident in Spain.
- Modelo 173: declaration of transactions in virtual currencies by Spanish CASPs themselves.
With DAC8, an additional obligation is added for CASPs to report their EU-resident clients’ data to the Spanish AEAT (if registered in Spain), which will automatically exchange it with the other European tax authorities.
Due Diligence Obligations (DAC8-Specific KYC)
To comply with DAC8, CASPs must implement due diligence procedures enabling them to identify the tax residency of each client. Minimum procedures include:
- TIN collection: requesting the tax identification number of all clients resident in EU Member States, in accordance with the registers of each state. For clients who do not evidence tax residence outside the EU, residence in the Member State where the CASP is registered is presumed.
- Self-declaration verification: the client declares their tax residence under their own responsibility; the CASP must verify that the declaration is not inconsistent with KYC data already held (nationality, billing address, habitual connection IP).
- Periodic updating: if the CASP detects a change in the client’s residence (relocation, new documentation), it must update its records and report under the new residence from the following tax year.
- Documentation of due diligence: the CASP must retain the documentary evidence of KYC procedures for a minimum of five years.
Impact for Individual Crypto-Asset Investors
For individual taxpayers resident in Spain who invest in crypto-assets, DAC8 has a direct impact: the AEAT will automatically receive data on their transactions at European exchanges and, through the OECD’s CARF (Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework), also from exchanges outside the EU that have adopted the standard.
This means the AEAT will have comprehensive information on crypto-asset disposal gains and losses, facilitating checks on the correct inclusion of these earnings in income tax returns (IRPF). Gains from crypto-asset disposal are taxed in the IRPF savings base (Article 37.1.b of Law 35/2006) at rates ranging from 19% to 28%, and non-declaration constitutes a serious infringement under Article 191 of the General Tax Law, attracting a penalty of between 50% and 150% of the unpaid tax.
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