Crypto futures and perpetuals are taxed in Germany under rules that have nothing to do with spot trading. A gain on a forward transaction counts as investment income and is charged at 25 percent income tax plus the solidarity surcharge. The one-year rule that makes a held Bitcoin tax-free after twelve months does not exist there. Trade a perpetual and you pay from the first closed position, and in return, since the Annual Tax Act 2024, you can again offset losses against other investment income without limit.

That split costs money if you only notice it when filing. Two separate loss-offsetting pools mean one thing: a loss on your leveraged account does not reduce the gain on coins you sold, even when both arose on the same platform…