The crucial factor in whether trading in assets triggers taxation is whether the trade is made with “speculative intent”.

It is a subjective assessment. When do you buy or sell something with speculation in mind?

In a sense, the same assessment is made for crypto as it is when people buy and sell expensive spirits, art pieces or other assets.

The tax authorities’ practice in this area is quite clear. Due to the high volatility and market developments, the authorities will consider trading in crypto as speculation, which, in our estimation, includes 99%+ of all trades in crypto.

However, it is possible to document that crypto has been acquired without speculative intent.

This may be because one has received crypto as a gift. It may also be because one can demonstrate that crypto was purchased for the purpose of being used as a means of payment and then used as payment relatively shortly thereafter. But if nothing else can be documented, trading in crypto will be considered speculation.

Whether this is fair or not is also subjective. In any case, this is how the tax authorities administer the tax rules as they stand today.