Anyone putting money into Bitcoin today decides first on the form: a single amount all at once, a fixed monthly instalment or an exchange-traded security in a securities account. In October 2026 this decision about investing in Bitcoin has an additional reason to be looked at closely. The German finance ministry’s draft bill on crypto taxation provides that the one-year holding period continues to apply only to holdings acquired by December 31, 2026. Whatever is bought after that is to fall under the flat-rate withholding tax. The cabinet is due to adopt the draft on October 14.

This article recalculates the three routes against the prices of the past ten years, explains the German tax position for each of them and names what can go…