Portugal as a Crypto-Friendly Destination for Traders in 2025

Portugal used to be the easiest place in Europe to trade crypto without paying taxes. If you held your Bitcoin or Ethereum for over a year, you kept every euro of profit. No reporting. No fees. No headaches. That’s why thousands of traders moved there-from London, Berlin, even New York. But things changed in January 2025. The Bank of Portugal stopped approving new crypto businesses. Not because they were cracking down. Because they couldn’t. No law. No rules. Just silence.

Why Portugal Still Attracts Crypto Traders

Even with the regulatory pause, Portugal’s tax rules haven’t changed. If you’ve held crypto for 365 days or more, your gains are still completely tax-free. That’s not just low-it’s zero. Compare that to Germany, where you pay up to 45% on crypto profits after one year, or France, where it’s 30%. Portugal’s 28% short-term tax (for holdings under a year) is still among the lowest in Europe. For traders who plan ahead, the math still makes sense.

The Non-Habitual Resident (NHR) program adds another layer. If you’re a foreigner moving to Portugal, you can lock in a 20% flat tax on local income and avoid taxes on most foreign earnings-including crypto profits from exchanges outside Portugal-for ten years. That’s why crypto nomads kept arriving in Lisbon and Porto even after the regulatory freeze. According to Nomad List, applications from crypto traders rose 22% in early 2025.

What Changed in January 2025

The big shift wasn’t a new tax law. It was a legal vacuum. Portugal agreed to adopt the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which went live across Europe in December 2024. But here’s the catch: Portugal never passed its own national law to make MiCA work locally. So when the EU rules kicked in, Portugal’s financial regulators hit a wall. The Bank of Portugal, which used to register crypto firms, suddenly lost its legal authority to approve anyone new.

Existing businesses? They can keep operating under old rules. But if you’re a startup trying to launch a crypto exchange, wallet service, or trading platform in Portugal today, you’re stuck. No registration. No license. No green light. The government says they’re working on it-targeting completion by mid-2026-but that’s still a year away. That’s a huge risk for anyone planning to build a business here.

Who’s Still Allowed to Operate

Not everyone is blocked. Individual traders? Still fine. You can buy, sell, and hold crypto without registering anything. Portugal doesn’t require you to declare your crypto holdings as a private person. No forms. No filings. Just keep your records in case you ever sell within a year.

Crypto service providers already registered before January 2025? They’re grandfathered in. But they’re operating in legal limbo. They still have to follow AML rules: verify customers, report suspicious activity, and keep records for transactions over €1,000. The Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários (CMVM) still decides if a token counts as a security. And the Tax Authority (AT) still collects the 28% tax on short-term gains.

The problem? No new players can enter. That’s why venture funding for blockchain startups in Portugal dropped 18% in the first half of 2025, according to local reports. Investors are waiting to see if the law will pass before putting money in.

How MiCA Changes the Game

When Portugal finally passes its MiCA law, things will get stricter-but also clearer. MiCA divides crypto into three types:

• Asset-referenced tokens (ARTs): Like stablecoins tied to euros or dollars. These need prior authorization.
• Electronic money tokens (EMTs): Digital cash equivalents. Also require approval.
• Other crypto-assets: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, etc. No pre-approval needed, but issuers must publish a white paper and be a legal entity.

Once implemented, the Bank of Portugal will handle licensing. CMVM will oversee security tokens. The Tax Authority will keep enforcing the 28% short-term rate. That’s a good thing. Right now, you’re navigating a patchwork of old rules and EU expectations. Soon, there’ll be one clear framework.

The Real Cost of Waiting

If you’re thinking of moving to Portugal to trade crypto, here’s what you need to know:

• Pros: Tax-free long-term gains, low short-term rate, NHR benefits, low cost of living, EU membership.
• Cons: No new crypto businesses allowed, regulatory uncertainty, potential for future tax changes if EU pressure grows.

Many traders are making the move anyway. They’re not starting exchanges. They’re not running mining farms. They’re buying crypto on Binance or Kraken, holding it for a year, then selling it tax-free. For them, Portugal is still the best deal in Europe.

But if you’re building a crypto business? Don’t move yet. Wait for the MiCA law to pass. You don’t want to spend €50,000 setting up a company, only to find out you can’t get licensed. Law firms like Morais Leitão are already helping clients prepare for MiCA compliance-73 cases in Q1 2025 alone. That’s a sign the industry is holding its breath, not giving up.

Who Should Go-and Who Shouldn’t

Go if:

• You’re an individual trader with crypto you plan to hold over a year.
• You’re a digital nomad who wants low taxes and a high quality of life.
• You’re already living in Portugal and just need to keep your records straight.

Don’t go yet if:

• You want to launch a crypto exchange, wallet, or trading platform.
• You’re relying on Portugal as your main business base for crypto services.
• You can’t afford to wait 12-18 months for legal clarity.

What’s Next for Portugal’s Crypto Scene

The government says MiCA implementation is coming before July 2026. Industry analysts believe that once it’s done, Portugal could become Europe’s third-largest crypto hub-after Switzerland and Germany. The country already has 850,000 crypto owners (8.2% of the population), and 23% of them are foreigners. That’s not a fluke. It’s a pattern.

Venture funding in blockchain still makes up 36% of all tech investment in Portugal. That’s higher than in Spain, Italy, or even the Netherlands. Investors aren’t betting on the current chaos. They’re betting that Portugal will fix it-and that the tax rules won’t change.

The real question isn’t whether Portugal is crypto-friendly. It’s whether it will stay that way. Right now, the answer is yes-for individuals. For businesses? Not yet. But if the law passes on time, Portugal could be the most attractive place in Europe to trade crypto, not just because of low taxes, but because of clear rules.

Practical Tips for Traders in Portugal

• Keep a record of every crypto purchase and sale date. You need to prove you held assets for over 365 days to qualify for tax exemption.
• Use a crypto tax tool like CoinLedger or Koinly to track holdings and calculate gains automatically.
• Don’t assume mining or staking income is tax-free. The tax authority hasn’t clarified this yet-assume it’s taxable unless proven otherwise.
• If you’re a non-resident, apply for NHR status before you move. The window is still open, but it won’t last forever.
• Never use a Portuguese bank account to process crypto business payments unless you’re licensed. Banks are getting nervous and freezing accounts.

Portugal’s crypto story isn’t over. It’s in the middle of a pause. And for traders who know how to use the rules, that pause still offers more freedom than most countries in the world.