Germany Plans to Grant Customs Administrative Seizure Powers From 2027, Allowing Direct Action Against Cryptocurrencies of Questionable Origin

We news, November 15: According to French media outlet Cryptoast, the German Bundestag passed a draft legal reform on November 12 that allows German customs to carry out administrative seizures of cryptocurrencies whose legal origin is subject to reasonable doubt, without initiating criminal proceedings. The bill mainly targets large assets worth more than 100,000 euros; if approved by the Bundesrat and formally promulgated, it is expected to take effect on January 1, 2027.

Under the bill, merely holding a large amount of bitcoin is not enough to trigger a seizure; authorities must possess specific evidence suggesting an illegal origin. In addition, provisional seizure is distinguished from final confiscation, and a final confiscation decision must still be made by a tax court. At the enforcement level, if the assets are held on a centralized platform, authorities can require the intermediary to freeze them directly; if they are held in a personal self-custody wallet, because moving the assets depends on the private key, physically seizing a hardware wallet does not directly amount to control of the funds. The German government estimates that, starting in 2028, the reform will bring in about 308 million euros in additional fiscal revenue each year.