Crypto FIFO across several exchanges: each wallet counts on its own in Germany

The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry a high degree of risk. Always conduct your own research.Hold bitcoin on several exchanges and in wallets of your own, and the holding period is calculated per pot, not across the total holding. What paragraph 62 of the BMF guidance orders, and why 31 December 2026 hangs on it.If you hold bitcoin on two exchanges and in a wallet of your own, and then sell part of it, you need to know which of your tranches counts as sold. That is what decides whether the sale stays tax-free. The answer goes by the name of crypto FIFO, and in Germany it works differently from what most holders expect: the Federal Ministry of Finance does not calculate across your total holdings but separately for each wallet and each exchange account. A sale on account A never reaches the older coins in wallet B, however long they have been sitting there. That separation decides more in the autumn of 2026 than it did in earlier years. Providers will report to the Federal Central Tax Office under the Crypto Asset Tax Transparency Act for the current year for the first t...