Austria has been a European fintech hub for years, attracting investment worldwide. Unsurprisingly, it has an enhanced crypto regulation framework. Major European crypto broker Bitpanda (1) is based here.
Country overview
#22
AustriaCountry stats
Rating Points
307
This indicator describes the overall rating of a given jurisdiction on several parameters according to cryptocurrency operations - market volume, crypto regulation, business climate, taxation framework.
Crypto Penetration
1.3%
Estimated percentage of crypto users out of the country's total population based on public data.
Legal Entities
19
Number of crypto companies registered in the country based on regulator data if available or other types of public data.
Regulation Points
80
An overall assessment of the granularity of crypto regulation in a given country. A high score is also given to countries where cryptocurrency transactions are highly regulated.
Amount of crypto users
115 700
Total amount of crypto users out of the country's total population based on public data.
Taxation points
30
This figure, according to our analysts' calculations, indicates the overall level of tax burden for cryptocurrency transactions in a given country. The higher the indicator, the lower the burden.
Market volume points
117.1
A rough estimate of this jurisdiction's retail crypto market relative to the rest of the world. The higher the indicator, the higher the market potential.
Status of crypto
Legally allowed
General status of cryptocurrency regulation in this jurisdiction.
Crypto payments
Legally allowed
The legal status of cryptocurrency payments for goods and services in a given country based on information from regulators, public data and feedback from our community.
Security Level
Safe place
The overall level of security in a given country based on open data.
Crypto Salaries
No info
The legal status of cryptocurrency salaries to employers in a given country based on information from regulators, public data and feedback from our community.
Business Climate
Medium
Overall assessment of the friendliness of this country for crypto-business. This indicator takes into account the cost of obtaining a license and the attitude towards crypto entities in the country.
Stablecoin Regulation
Basic
This indicator is evaluating the regulation of stablecoins in a given country. Complex regulation means that it is possible to issue steiblcoins and obtain a license for this activity. Basic regulation means that the issuance of stablecoins is possible, but not all legal aspects are defined in the law. Standard regulation means that there is a legal practice of steylcoin circulation in a given country.
Bad Factors
No
This section describes the unfavorable economic factors for crypto-business in a given country. These are countries that are under sanctions or on the FATF grey list and other factors.
Types of licenses
Crypto-to-crypto
This license type allows VASP to provide legal exchange from one cryptocurrency to another.
Crypto-to-fiat
This type of license regulates the exchange from cryptocurrency to fiat.
Wallet/Custody
This country has a legal licensing procedure for companies that store cryptocurrency - - crypto wallet providers and custodians.
Good
Medium
Bad
Austria has a safe place security level according to our rating. Jurisdiction has 72.4 points (from 100) for safety level in Numbeo crime rating (2). The homicide level (3) is 0.7 per 100,000 inhabitants a year. Level of firearm-related death (4) 2.75 per 100,000 inhabitants a year.
Based on CryptoTaxCalculator (5), The Austrian Ministry of Finance (BMF) “does not view cryptocurrencies as legal tender, currency, or money like the euro or US dollar. Instead, they are considered a digital representation of value not controlled by a central bank but used by individuals for exchanging or transferring value.”
Some crypto payment providers provide their solutions for crypto settlements. One of them is Concardis (6). Also, Bitpanda has provided (7) 6here solutions for crypto ATMs and coupons that can be used in shops.
Currently, we need more information about crypto payroll in Austria. Please get in touch with us if you have such information.
The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) is the main crypto regulator in Austria. The local Finance Ministry also regulates some aspects of crypto regulation. For instance, it has published BundesMinisteriumFinanz - Tax Guide (8).
GlobalLegalInsights defines local regulations in its overview (9) as “technologically neutral.” This means that “products and services are subject to the same regulatory framework as “traditional” products/services.” Also, current regulations define cryptocurrencies in most cases as commodities.
FMA has also published a guide (10) dedicated to crypto regulation of VASPs, ICOs, and different blockchain fintech operating in the country.
GlobalLegalInsights and Schoenherr (11) have provided an overview of local crypto regulations that define the most common licensing cases.
Payment services must be registered under “the BWG, the AIFMG, and the Austrian Electronic Money Act.”
“If capital is raised in order to invest proceeds into cryptocurrencies or mining, this could be regulated as a banking business (deposits business) or as managing an alternative investment fund (“AIF”) under the AIFMG”. Also for some cases it may “be prospectus requirements under Austrian securities laws”
Alternative currencies, payment instruments or means of payment may trigger a licensing requirement if they are intended for payment at third parties
According to Financemagnates (12), in 2021, about 40 crypto firms have applied for Austrian licenses. Based on Trending topics (13), some crypto-friendly banks in Austria are open to UniCredit Bank Austria, Erste Bank, Oberbank, Deutsche Kreditbank AG (DKB), and N26.
On the site of the Austrian financial regulator FMA, there are rules of licensing(13¹), an overview of the crypto platforms(13²), a register of crypto entities(13³), and a VASP registration procedure overview(13¹).
| Tax name | Index |
| PIT tax Max | 27.5 |
| PIT tax Min | 0 |
| Corporate tax (CIT) | 23 |
| Max Individual CGT (for crypto) | 27.5 |
| Min Individual CGT (for crypto) | 0 |
| Wealth tax Max | 0 |
| Wealth tax Min | 0 |
PIT
According to PWC (14), tax rates in Austria are defined below. However, in most cases, crypto income is taxed for CGT tax.
CGT
According to TPA-group (15), crypto income is “classified under income from capital assets within the meaning of Section 27 EStG 1988,” income from cryptocurrency purchased since 1 March 2021 will be taxed CGT flat rate - 27,5%. It turns out that the new tax regime has significantly softened the conditions. After all, previously, it was taxed at a 55% PIT rate, including crypto-to-crypto exchange (which now is untaxable). This tax will also be applied to personal mining. Commercial mining may be taxed PIT with a progressive rate of up to 55%.
At the same time, according to TPA Group, airdrops, staking, bounties, and hard forks are subject to a 0% tax before conversion to fiat.
Based on the Austrian neobank N26 blog (16), crypto holders are responsible for their capital gain tax. It will dramatically change shortly since crypto exchanges will be responsible for automatic tax calculations.
CIT
According to PWC tax summaries, starting in 2024, the CIT rate in Austria will be 23%.
1)Bitcoin.com. Austrian Crypto Exchange Bitpanda Secures Trading License From Germany's BaFin. Terence Zimwara. Article
2)Crime Index by Country 2023 Mid-Year
3)List of countries by intentional homicide rate
4)List of countries by firearm-related death rate
5)CryptoTaxCalculator. Austria Crypto Tax Guide 2023. Article. Patrick McGimpsey. 09 Dec 2022
6)retail.at. Concardis und Salamantex ermöglichen Bezahlen mit Kryptowährungen am POS in ganz Österreich. Concardis and Salamantex enable payments with cryptocurrencies at the POS throughout Austria. Article
7)KRYPTOWÄHRUNGEN. Bitpanda-Gründer: "Multimillionär bin ich nur auf dem Papier. Bitpanda founder: “I’m only a multimillionaire on paper”. Article
8) BundesMinisteriumFinanz - Tax Guide. Article
9)Globallegalinsights. Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Laws and Regulations 2023 | Austria
10)FinTech Navigator. Article
11)GlobalLegalInsights and Schoenherr. Article
12)40 Crypto Firms Apply for Austrian License, 18 Get Tick of Approval, Article
13)Trending Topics. So gehen Banken in Österreich mit Krypto-Transaktionen um. This is how banks in Austria deal with crypto transactions. Article
13¹)Registration of Virtual Asset Service Providers
14)PWC. Austria, Individual - Taxes on personal income
15)TPA. Krypto-Besteuerung NEU: was jetzt wirklich gilt! Crypto taxation NEW: what really applies now! Article
16)N26. Zurück zu Krypto Steuer Österreich: Das gilt für dich. Crypto tax Austria: This applies to you. Article