Wrapped Bitcoin in Austria: Is Converting BTC to WBTC Tax-Neutral?

Wrapped Bitcoin in Austria: Is Converting BTC to WBTC Tax-Neutral?

Converting Bitcoin into Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) does not necessarily amount, in economic terms, to selling Bitcoin for euros. What the investor receives instead is a token designed to represent the value of Bitcoin on other blockchain networks. According to the project, each WBTC is backed 1:1 by Bitcoin.

For investors in Austria this raises an important tax question: is the move from BTC to WBTC a tax-neutral crypto-to-crypto swap – or are the Bitcoin gains accrued up to that point already taxed at 27.5 percent?

There appears to be no explicit statement from the Austrian Ministry of Finance (BMF) dealing specifically with Wrapped Bitcoin. Under the general rules, however, the transaction can be tax-neutral provided that both BTC and WBTC qualify as cryptocurrencies within the meaning of section 27b(4) of the Austrian Income Tax Act (EStG).

Crypto for Crypto Is Generally Tax-Neutral in Austria

Austrian crypto tax law contains one important exception: swapping one cryptocurrency for another is generally not treated as a taxable realisation.

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