Bitcoin in Spain: Legal Status, Tax Rules and the Right to Self-Custody

As of October 16, 2026. This article describes Spanish and EU law in force on that date and marks what is only pending. Translations from Spanish are mine. Spanish statutes were read in the consolidated versions published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE), which carry no legal value of their own, so the official publication controls.

Bitcoin is legal to buy, hold, sell and self-custody in Spain. Spanish anti-money laundering law now treats it as a crypto-asset under the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), businesses serving clients need authorization from the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), and Bitcoin is not legal tender. Gains are taxed as savings income at rates from 19% to 30%.

Yes. No Spanish statute I reviewed prohibits owning, buying, selling or self-custodying Bitcoin; the law regulates businesses serving others.

The core definition sits in Law 10/2010 on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing (Ley 10/2010, de prevención del blanqueo de capitales y de la financiación del terrorismo). Its consolidated text was last updated on September 30, 2026, in force from October 1, 2026.

Article 1.5 now defines a crypto-asset (criptoactivo) as "a digital representation of a value or of a right that can be transferred and stored electronically, using distributed ledger technology or similar technology," as defined in Article 3.1, point 5, of MiCA. Bitcoin fits that definition.

The change came from the first final provision of Royal Decree-law 25/2026 of September 29, BOE No. 241 of September 30, 2026. Its preamble says the purpose is to add crypto-asset service providers as obliged entities and ties the reform to an EU infringement procedure on the Transfer of Funds Regulation.

Before that change, Article 1.5 used the term virtual currency (moneda virtual). The Agencia Tributaria's 2025 income tax manual still quotes it: a digital representation of value not issued or guaranteed by a central bank or public authority, which "does not have the legal status of currency or money" but is accepted as a means of exchange.

No. Bitcoin is not legal tender in Spain, and the Supreme Court has refused to treat it as money.

The Agencia Tributaria's manual describes virtual currencies as not legal tender (moneda de curso legal).

In a 2019 criminal fraud case, ECLI:ES:TS:2019:2109, the Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo) called Bitcoin "an intangible patrimonial asset, in the form of a unit of account," and said it is in no way money. According to the official press note of the General Council of the Judiciary of July 4, 2019, the court held it could not order the return of the bitcoins themselves. Victims were compensated in money instead.

In practice: a court may value your sats in euros rather than order them handed back.

The CNMV supervises Bitcoin service providers under MiCA. The Banco de España no longer registers them.

Article 59(1) of MiCA, Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, bars anyone from providing crypto-asset services in the EU unless authorized as a crypto-asset service provider or as an entity allowed to do so under Article 60. Article 3(1), point 16, lists those services. They include custody on behalf of clients, exchange for funds or other crypto-assets, and transfer services for clients.

The CNMV's MiCA page, published September 22, 2026, says MiCA has applied since December 30, 2024, and that the CNMV is the competent authority for supervising compliance. It also points investors to the CNMV register of authorized providers.

On July 1, 2026. Article 143(3) of MiCA let providers operating under national law before December 30, 2024 continue "until 1 July 2026" or until authorized or refused, whichever came first. The CNMV's MiCA questions and answers of December 15, 2025 confirm that date for Spain.

It closed. The Banco de España's note on the closure states the register was closed on July 1, 2026. Registration had depended only on anti-money laundering procedures and integrity requirements, and it "did not imply any approval or verification of the activity carried out."

No provision I reviewed requires one. MiCA defines a crypto-asset service provider as a business providing services "to clients on a professional basis." Buying sats for yourself or holding your own keys is not a service to a client.

Advertising by service providers is now governed by MiCA, and the CNMV's national circular no longer applies.

CNMV Circular 1/2022 of January 10 regulated advertising of crypto-assets presented as investment objects. It defined mass campaigns as those aimed at more than 100,000 people and required at least ten business days' prior notice to the CNMV. Circular 1/2024 of December 17, BOE No. 312 of December 27, 2024, repealed it from December 28, 2024. Its preamble says Member States may not legislate on this matter now that MiCA applies.

Under Article 66 of MiCA, providers must give clients information that is "fair, clear and not misleading," including in marketing communications, and must warn clients of the risks of transactions.

Authorized crypto-asset service providers are obliged entities under Law 10/2010. Individuals holding their own Bitcoin are not.

Since October 1, 2026, Article 2.1(z) of Law 10/2010 lists "crypto-asset service providers" as obliged entities. Article 1.6 defines them by reference to MiCA, and Article 1.7 now defines a self-hosted address (dirección autoalojada) by reference to Regulation (EU) 2023/1113.

The Executive Service of the Commission for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Monetary Offences (SEPBLAC) describes itself as Spain's only Financial Intelligence Unit and as the anti-money laundering supervisory authority.

Royal Decree 813/2026 of October 7, published October 8, 2026, amends the anti-money laundering regulation so that identity must be verified "in every case" for operations at crypto-asset ATMs.

The travel rule binds providers, not your wallet. Article 14(5) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 requires a sending provider to collect the transfer information for a transfer to a self-hosted address. For transfers above 1,000 EUR, it must take adequate measures to assess whether the address is owned or controlled by the originator.

In practice: expect your exchange to ask you to prove control of the address before a large withdrawal to self-custody.

Gains from selling or swapping Bitcoin are savings income (renta del ahorro) in personal income tax (Impuesto sobre la Renta de las Personas Físicas, IRPF), taxed at progressive savings rates.

The Agencia Tributaria's 2025 manual on buying and selling virtual currencies computes the gain as the difference between transfer value and acquisition value, after related costs. For partial sales of homogeneous coins such as Bitcoin, the coins sold "are those acquired first," a first-in, first-out rule (FIFO).

A swap of Bitcoin for another crypto-asset is an exchange (permuta) under Article 37.1(h) of the IRPF Law. The gain is measured against the greater of the market value of the coin given and the market value of the coin received. The manual places these gains in the savings tax base under Article 46(b).

The state savings scale under Article 66.1 of the IRPF Law and the regional scale under Article 76 are identical for 2025. Adding the two halves gives these combined rates:

The manual lists each half from 9.5% to 15%; the sums are my arithmetic.

Yes, within limits. The manual's rules on the savings base, citing Article 49, let a net loss offset positive capital income up to 25% of that income. Any remainder carries forward to the following four years.

Coins lost in an exchange collapse are different. The manual says an unreturned claim is not automatically a loss. It counts only once the conditions of Article 14.2(k) are met, and then in the general tax base.

Only if a foreign custodian holds it for you and the total exceeds 50,000 euros. That declaration is Modelo 721.

Modelo 721 is the annual information return on virtual currencies located abroad, approved by Order HFP/886/2023 of July 26, BOE No. 180 of July 29, 2023. It is filed between January 1 and March 31 of the following year, and it first applied to 2023.

Article 42 quater of the tax procedure regulation, added by Royal Decree 249/2023, covers residents of Spain. No return is due when balances at December 31 "do not exceed, jointly, 50,000 euros." Later years require a new return only after an increase of more than 20,000 euros.

The Agencia Tributaria's Modelo 721 FAQ says coins in wallets where you control the private keys are not reported on Modelo 721.

Spanish custodians file Modelo 172 on balances and Modelo 173 on transactions, under Order HFP/887/2023. Both are due in January of the following year. The obligations rest on Articles 39 bis and 39 ter of the tax procedure regulation.

Directive (EU) 2023/2226, known as DAC8, required Member States to transpose it by December 31, 2025 and to apply it from January 1, 2026. Providers report within nine months after each calendar year.

I found no Spanish transposing law in the BOE. The pending measures are described below.

Yes. Bitcoin counts toward the wealth tax (Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio), whether held on an exchange or in self-custody.

The Agencia Tributaria's 2025 wealth tax manual values each holding at the price at 23:59 on December 31 offered by the main trading platforms. The 2025 novelties page gives the filing window as April 8 to June 30, 2026.

Regions decide much of the outcome. In the Comunidad de Madrid, the manual records a 100% relief, which is replaced while the solidarity tax applies by a relief equal to the difference between the two taxes.

The Temporary Solidarity Tax on Large Fortunes (Impuesto Temporal de Solidaridad de las Grandes Fortunas) taxes individuals' net wealth above 3,000,000 euros. The Agencia Tributaria states it was extended by Royal Decree-law 8/2023 of December 27.

They apply their own regimes. The wealth tax manual says the tax applies throughout Spain subject to the Economic Agreement (Concierto Económico) of the Basque Country and the Economic Covenant (Convenio Económico) of Navarre. Their rules were not reviewed here.

Inheritance and gift tax (Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones) applies, and which region's law governs depends on residence.

The Agencia Tributaria's table of competences says that when the deceased was resident, the region of the deceased's residence manages the tax and its law applies. When the deceased was not resident, the State is competent, with an option for the law of the region where most of the assets in Spain are located.

In practice: heirs cannot declare or move sats they cannot find. A self-custody setup needs a recovery path.

No. The Court of Justice of the European Union held in Case C-264/14, Hedqvist, on October 22, 2015, that exchanging traditional currencies for Bitcoin is a supply of services but is exempt from VAT, according to the Court's press release No 128/15.

Several measures are pending, and none is in force.

Self-custody is lawful and needs no license. The obligations fall on providers and on your own tax filings.

Withdrawals to your own wallet trigger checks at the exchange under the travel rule. Self-custodied coins are left out of Modelo 721 but still count for wealth tax.

Yes. No Spanish statute I reviewed prohibits owning, buying, selling or self-custodying Bitcoin. Since October 1, 2026, Article 1.5 of Law 10/2010 defines crypto-assets by reference to MiCA. Businesses serving clients need MiCA authorization, supervised by the CNMV, and the Banco de España register closed on July 1, 2026. Bitcoin is not legal tender.

No provision I reviewed requires one. Article 59(1) of MiCA requires authorization to provide crypto-asset services, and Article 3(1), point 15, defines a provider as a business serving clients on a professional basis. Holding your own keys for yourself is not a service to a client, so no authorization attaches to it.

Gains from selling or swapping Bitcoin are savings income in IRPF. Adding the state scale in Article 66.1 and the regional scale in Article 76 gives combined rates of 19%, 21%, 23%, 27% and 30%, with the top rate above 300,000 euros. The Agencia Tributaria applies first-in, first-out to partial sales.

Yes. The Agencia Tributaria's 2025 income tax manual treats a swap as an exchange under Article 37.1(h) of the IRPF Law. The gain on the Bitcoin given up is measured against the greater of its market value and the market value of the coin received, and it is taxed as savings income.

No. The Agencia Tributaria's Modelo 721 FAQ says coins in wallets where you control the private keys are not reported. Modelo 721 covers coins held for you by a custodian abroad, and under Article 42 quater no return is due unless the total at December 31 exceeds 50,000 euros.

Yes. The Agencia Tributaria's 2025 wealth tax manual values Bitcoin at the price at 23:59 on December 31 from the main trading platforms. Regional reliefs differ widely. The separate solidarity tax applies to net wealth above 3,000,000 euros and was extended by Royal Decree-law 8/2023 of December 27.

The travel rule binds providers, not your wallet. Article 14(5) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 requires a provider sending Bitcoin to a self-hosted address to collect the transfer information and, above 1,000 EUR, to assess whether the address belongs to its customer. Expect your exchange to ask for proof of control.

This article is general information and not legal advice.

To see how Spain compares with other countries, open The Bitcoin Act's interactive Global Bitcoin Regulatory Map. It sets legal status, self-custody, tax and seizure risk side by side across jurisdictions: https://thebitcoinact.xyz/bitcoin-legal-map

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