The EU doesn’t operate a harmonized tax framework for crypto-assets. Each member country applies its own domestic tax rules, resulting in a fragmented landscape where comparable investors have different after-tax returns depending solely on the jurisdiction of tax residence.

This divergence creates significant risks as regulatory frameworks are evolving rapidly, and changes in domestic tax policy can retroactively alter the economic profile of an investment, with adverse effects on overall returns.

Structuring holdings to avoid or defer the taxation of unrealized capital gains is, on a purely economic basis, the single most impactful decision an investor can make to improve long-term after-tax returns.

From an investor’s perspective,…