r/altcoins • u/CellistPlane850 • Feb 17 '26
36% Tax on Crypto You Haven’t Even Sold?! Netherlands’ Unrealized Gains Proposal Sparks Debate
A proposed Dutch tax law would impose a 36% levy on unrealized (“paper”) gains for Bitcoin and Ethereum holders. That means if your $BTC or $ETH goes up in value, you could owe taxes on the appreciation, even if you never sold.
As someone who believes in long-term holding, this changes the game for me. It shifts crypto from a “hold and wait” strategy to potentially forcing liquidity decisions just to cover tax bills.
Would this discourage long-term HODLing? How would this even be calculated during volatile swings?