The tax treatment of crypto-assets is entering a phase of full regulatory maturity. Between the 2025 Budget Law and the draft 2026 Budget Law, the Italian legislator has defined a coherent but decidedly more burdensome framework for investors, marking a pivotal transition: from crypto as a “tolerated” phenomenon to crypto as financially assimilated assets — and, to some extent, penalised — relative to traditional financial instruments.

The picture that emerges is less ambiguous than in the past, yet today it demands careful reading, since the increase in rates is accompanied by precise distinctions that can materially affect operational decisions.

The abolition of the tax-free allowance: the first watershed from 2025

The first structural change takes effect from 1 January 2025 and is often underestimated in its scope: the abolition of the €2,000 tax-free allowance.

Until 2024, aggregate capital gains from crypto-assets below that threshold were not fiscally relevant. From 2025, by contrast, any capital gain forms part of the taxable base in full, with no exemption thresholds. This shift marks a sharp break, particularly for retail investors and for those who hold crypto as an ancillary component of their portfolio: taxation becomes immediate, comprehensive, and no longer “lenient” towards modest gains.

The 33% rate from 2026: an across-the-board increase

The second, and most visible, measure concerns the rate applicable to capital gains and other income derived from crypto-assets under Art. 67, paragraph 1, letter c-sexies) of the Italian Consolidated Income Tax Act (TUIR).

With effect from 1 January 2026, the substitute tax rises from 26% to 33%. The increase was introduced by the 2025 Budget Law and is confirmed in the structure of the subsequent fiscal package.

The tightening applies uniformly, irrespective of the tax regime adopted:

  • self-assessment regime;
  • administered savings regime;
  • managed savings regime.

There are therefore no “escape routes” through the choice of regime: 33% becomes the reference rate for the generality of crypto-assets.

From an economic standpoint, the effect is clear: the net return on highly volatile investments is compressed significantly, making the risk/return assessment net of taxation all the more central.

Euro-denominated stablecoins: a differentiated treatment (at 26%)

Within this stricter framework, the draft 2026 Budget Law introduces a notable distinction, which must nonetheless be formulated with precision.

The 26% rate remains applicable to miscellaneous income derived from euro-denominated stablecoins, classifiable as e-money tokens pegged to the euro. This is therefore not a concession extended indiscriminately to all stablecoins, but a provision confined to those linked to the European currency.

Stablecoins pegged to currencies other than the euro (for example, the US dollar) fall instead within the ordinary perimeter of crypto-assets and, from 2026, are subject to the 33% rate.

The rationale for the distinction is clear: the legislator tends to regard euro-denominated stablecoins as instruments closer to means of payment or short-term stores of value, rather than purely speculative assets. This is also a choice consistent with the European regulatory framework.

Conversions and redemptions: a crucial operational consideration

A further element — operational in nature yet far from secondary — concerns the treatment of conversions between euros and euro-denominated stablecoins.

The most authoritative interpretations indicate that, under certain conditions, the euro → euro stablecoin conversion and the subsequent redemption at face value may not give rise to fiscally relevant capital gains or losses. This is a point that, if definitively confirmed, reduces the tax friction involved in using these instruments as a “liquidity bridge” within the crypto ecosystem.

It is a point destined to assume growing practical importance, particularly in a context of elevated rates on traditional crypto-assets.

Implications for financial planning

Taken together, these measures paint a clear picture: taxation becomes a determining variable in the management of crypto-asset investments.

From 2025 onwards:

  • every disposal is taxable, without any allowance;
  • from 2026, the standard rate rises to 33%;
  • only a well-defined segment of the crypto universe (euro-denominated stablecoins) benefits from a more aligned treatment at 26%.

For the informed investor, it is no longer sufficient to question the direction of the market or the underlying technology: it becomes essential to integrate the tax dimension into portfolio construction, the selection of instruments, and the timing of transactions.

Concluding remarks

The regulatory evolution on crypto-assets does not surprise by its direction, but strikes by its intensity. The increase in the rate and the elimination of the tax-free allowance mark the definitive end of an “experimental” phase of Italian tax law towards digital assets.

The result is a more orderly and intelligible system, but also a more demanding one. In this context, the real difference will not be made by any single transaction, but by the ability to adopt a structured outlook, in which market risk and tax risk are assessed together, with equal rigour.