Crypto Tax: Why You Have to Secure Your Transaction History Before the Exchange Closes Your Account

Anyone forced to close an account at a crypto exchange should download the full transaction history before the cut-off date. The reason is crypto tax: it is up to you to prove to the tax office when you bought and what you paid. Once the account is closed, the trading record is as a rule no longer retrievable, and the burden of proof still sits with you. This is not a theoretical question at the moment. Over the coming weeks, several trading venues reach deadlines after which accounts are closed, balances are sold off by force, or individual tokens are pulled from trading. It also catches investors who did nothing wrong and simply happened to be at the wrong exchange. Crypto Tax and the Duty of Proof: Why the Exchange Does Not Keep Your Records for You A crypto exchange is not a German credit institution. It issues no annual tax certificate, it withholds no capital gains tax, and once the business relationship ends it owes you nothing beyond the statutory minimum. What is left of your trading year is whatever you secured yourself. With a securities account in Germany, the bank does this work. It knows your acquisition costs, offsets losses and reports the result. In crypto, that au...