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Practical Income Manual 2022.

Subject

Regarding cryptocurrencies or virtual currencies, we can find a legal definition of them in section 5 of article 1 of Law 10/2010, of April 28, on the prevention of money laundering. capital and the financing of terrorism (BOE of April 29), which provides:

“5. Virtual currency will be understood as that digital representation of value not issued or guaranteed by a central bank or public authority, not necessarily associated with a legally established currency and which does not have the legal status of currency or money, but which is accepted as a means of exchange and can be transferred, stored or negotiated electronically ."

Taking this definition into account, virtual currencies ("cryptocurrencies" or "payment tokens") are considered, for tax purposes, as intangible assets , computable by units or fractions of units, which are not are legal tender, which can be exchanged for other goods, including other virtual currencies, rights or services, if accepted by the person or entity that transfers the good or right or provides the service, and which can be acquired or transmitted generally to legal tender currency exchange.

Considering that each virtual currency has its origin in a specific computer protocol, different scope of acceptance, different liquidity, value and denomination, the different virtual currencies are different goods.