STATUS PRAWNY KRYPTOWALUT I OPODATKOWANIE DOCHODÓW UZYSKIWANYCH Z TYTUŁU OBROTU NIMI

Edyta Jóźwiak

doi:10.21697/zp.2025.25.2.08

Published: 2025-06-30

Vol. 25 No. 2 (2025)

The legal status of cryptocurrencies and income tax due on cryptocurrency trade

Edyta Jóźwiak

Zeszyty Prawnicze

Section: Artykuły

https://doi.org/10.21697/zp.2025.25.2.08

Abstract

The concept of cryptocurrency has been around since the late 20th century. The market at the time needed a revolution and cryptocurrency was to become a tool to achieve this. Cryptocurrency was first described by Wei Dai as money based on cryptography for the control of the creation of a currency and transactions conducted in it. In this sense, cryptography was in a way intended as a surrogate for central money issuers. Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency, took the idea further. It was released in 2009 and was followed by many other cryptos based on the same source code. You can now to pay in cryptocurrencies in many places, and there are ATMs where bitcoins can be deposited and withdrawn. Moreover, some countries have recognised bitcoin as their national currency. The legal status of cryptocurrencies and provisions for tax due on them are important the point of view of trading in them. Under Polish law, an amendment which came in force on 1 January 2019 has brought a radical change to the way cryptocurrencies are taxed. The new regulations are connected with changes in the Polish personal income tax act. However, the amendments to the law did not bring about a change in the approach the Polish tax authorities take to cryptocurrencies, which has forced Poland’s Voivodeship Administrative Courts and its Supreme Administrative Court to take up the subject.

Keywords:

tax authorities, tax due on cryptocurrencies, fnancial instrument, property law, currency, electronic money, monetary capital

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Jóźwiak, E. (2025). The legal status of cryptocurrencies and income tax due on cryptocurrency trade. Zeszyty Prawnicze, 25(2), 177–197. https://doi.org/10.21697/zp.2025.25.2.08

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