Key facts: The regulations can now begin to be applied by companies, although they come into force in 2026. The DAC8 is based on the MiCA law recently approved by the European Parliament. The obligation for European companies related to bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies to inform governments about their users’ cryptoasset holdings is already a fact in the European Union (EU). The European Parliament this week approved the DAC8 regulation, also known as the eighth directive on administrative cooperation. The regulation establishes the obligation of declaration by exchanges, wallet providers, brokers and other companies of that kind. In the plenary session of the European Parliament held last Wednesday in the city of Strasbourg, France, the DAC8 It was approved by 535 votes in favor, 57 against and only 60 abstentions.
In general, this new EU rule establishes that governments will have powers to collect taxes. It also authorizes them to track and analyze operations carried out with cryptocurrencies. through the companies required to declare.
The DAC8 advanced successfully in the EU
The approval of the DAC8 regulation by the European Parliament continues the debate and approval awarded by the Council of the European Union in May of this year. That is the organization made up of various ministers from the bloc’s countries, including those of economy and finance. As reported by CriptoNoticias, the Council raised with this regulation the need to “minimize the administrative burden for cryptocurrency service providers.” That is why companies must now declare holdings of cryptocurrencies that operate in a decentralized manner, such as bitcoin (BTC). Other assets are also included, such as stablecoins and some non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The European Union’s DAC8 regulation will come into effect from January 1, 2026. However, after being approved by the European Parliament, companies in the Bitcoin ecosystem in the EU They can now begin to apply the declaration and information guidelines.
The regulations were approved in the plenary session of the European Parliament last Wednesday. Source: European Parliament. This means that, with the approval of the regional legislature, it is likely that there will be European cryptoasset companies that apply the DAC8 regulations before 2026. The above, allowing the tax authorities of the countries of the bloc know the cryptocurrency holdings of their users.
The DAC8 is an instrumental legislation, which is designed to “further harmonize the cryptocurrency market in the European Union”, as recalled on X (formerly Twitter) by the European Crypto Initiative community. Also, they said, it is a law that will serve to complement the regulations already existing in that region, such as the MiCA law and the laws against anti-money laundering and financing of terrorism.
Time for self-custody?
Considering that the DAC8 regulation establishes that cryptocurrency companies in the EU are required to declare the asset holdings of their usersone of the intrinsic characteristics of Bitcoin comes to light.
This is self-custody, which is nothing more than preventing trusted third parties, such as exchanges, brokers and others, from have power over their own funds. This, through a practice of personal safeguarding of the deposited money. It must be remembered that, due to the new EU rule, cryptocurrency companies, especially those that operate centrally, are required to report to the tax authorities of the member countries of the Union. about its users’ holdings and activities with crypto assets.
However, this does not affect users that use the self-custody of funds method. That is, those who purchased a non-custodial wallet, created and safeguarded their seed phrases and are now fully sovereign over their money. For bitcoiner Nikola Tchouparov, the EU DAC8 rule does not have much relevance, since “it strengthens the use case in favor of self-custody” Of funds. Furthermore, he said on
