The European Commission is exploring a new avenue to bolster the Union's own resources: a tax on cryptocurrency transactions. The proposal envisions a 0,1% levy on every purchase or sale of crypto-assets within the European Union. This initiative is part of the search for additional funding for the EU budget, as Brussels seeks to reduce its reliance on national contributions.
An estimated return of up to 4 billion euros
The Commission services have estimated the potential revenue from this measure at between €3 and €4 billion per year. This amount reflects the scale of trading volumes on platforms operating within the European Union . The chosen rate appears relatively modest compared to traditional financial transaction taxes already in place in some Member States, but the tax base remains considerable given the growth of the crypto-asset market in recent years.
This proposal remains at the discussion stage for now. Any decision concerning the Union's own resources requires the unanimous agreement of the Member States, which makes the adoption of such a measure particularly complex from a political standpoint. This issue arises as the EU recently adopted the MiCA regulation, designed to more strictly regulate the cryptocurrency sector, signaling a growing desire to regulate this sector, which has long remained outside the traditional financial system.
