What is DAC8?

DAC8 is Directive (EU) 2023/2226, the eighth amendment to the EU Directive on Administrative Cooperation in taxation. It expands automatic exchange of information between EU tax authorities to cover reportable crypto-asset transactions.

Short answer

Starting in 2026, crypto-asset service providers must collect and report information about reportable users and crypto transactions to tax authorities. The information can then be exchanged automatically between tax administrations.

How DAC8 relates to CARF

DAC8 is the EU implementation path for a reporting logic closely aligned with the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, or CARF. CARF is the global standard; DAC8 is the EU directive applying that approach inside the EU legal framework.

Background

The EU Directive on Administrative Cooperation created a framework for cooperation and automatic exchange of tax information between Member States. Earlier DAC amendments expanded that framework to new categories of tax-relevant information. DAC8 adds crypto-assets to the same architecture.

The policy rationale is the perceived visibility gap between traditional finance, where financial institutions already report under automatic exchange frameworks, and crypto markets, where users can trade, transfer and hold assets through intermediaries that were not always covered by older reporting definitions.

What assets are in scope?

DAC8 uses crypto-asset concepts aligned with the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation. The scope can include cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, certain tokenized assets and certain NFTs when they are used for payment or investment purposes.

What data can be reported?

DAC8 can cover identity (name, home address, date of birth), tax residence, tax identification numbers, transaction types, transaction values, dates and transfer information, including operations with no tax relevance.

Who is affected?

The reporting burden falls on reporting crypto-asset service providers, including exchanges, brokers, custodians, payment services and other providers that effectuate or facilitate reportable crypto transactions. Users are affected when their activity falls within the reportable scope.

What transactions are covered?

• Acquisitions and disposals against fiat currency.
• Exchanges between crypto-assets.
• Transfers of crypto-assets.
• Certain retail payment transactions.
• Aggregated transaction values and units by crypto-asset type.

Due diligence and reporting

Reporting providers must identify reportable users, determine tax residence, collect tax identification information where required, and report annual transaction information to the competent tax authority. The authority can then exchange that information automatically with other relevant tax administrations.

Timeline

• DAC8 was adopted as Directive (EU) 2023/2226 on 17 October 2023.
• It was published in the Official Journal on 24 October 2023.
• It entered into force in November 2023.
• EU Member States had to transpose the directive by the end of 2025.
• The rules apply from 1 January 2026.
• The first reported information covers the 2026 calendar year.
• Automatic exchanges between tax authorities follow in 2027.

What DAC8 does not do

DAC8 does not harmonize how crypto-assets are taxed in each Member State. It is a reporting and exchange-of-information directive. The underlying tax treatment of gains, income, staking, business activity or wealth remains governed by national rules.

Impact on businesses

Crypto businesses must build compliance systems for classification, customer documentation, transaction aggregation, reporting formats, data retention and customer communication. The burden is likely to be easier for large platforms than for smaller providers.

Impact on users

EU tax-resident users should expect reportable activity through covered providers to become visible to tax authorities. Users still remain responsible for filing correct tax returns, but tax authorities receive independent third-party reporting data.

Why Bull Bitcoin opposes DAC8

Bull Bitcoin does not oppose crypto taxation. The objection is to mass automatic data collection that links civil identity, wallet addresses, public transaction history and balances. In crypto, that combination can create physical security risks for holders and their families if data is leaked, abused or accessed by the wrong person.

The alternative is targeted fiscal cooperation: specific, motivated requests concerning identified taxpayers, instead of building a broad database of crypto users and transactions.

Primary sources

• European Commission DAC8 page
• Directive (EU) 2023/2226 on EUR-Lex
• OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework

French reference page: Qu'est-ce que DAC8 ?