Crypto and divorce: bitcoin and accrued gains

Anyone who holds bitcoin or other crypto assets and gets divorced usually asks the wrong question first, namely this one: do I now have to split my coins? Under German law the answer is, in the overwhelming majority of cases, no, your coins remain your coins. What gets divided is something else, namely the increase in assets accumulated during the marriage, and it is divided as a sum of money. That sounds like a technicality, but it decides whether you have to sell or not, and whether tax falls due when you do.

This piece explains how the equalisation of accrued gains works when part of the assets sits in a wallet: which key dates apply, what you have to disclose, who bears the price risk between the key date and payment, and at which point a family law question turns into a taxable disposal. All the provisions come from the German Civil Code and the Income Tax Act and can be read in the original wording.

One framing note that belongs here: this is a general explanation of the legal position and not legal advice for your case. Family law is decided case by case, and with larger holdings a lawyer’s advice is no luxury.

The error is already in the term. Anyone who marries without a prenuptial agreement lives under the statutory matrimonial property regime of the community of accrued gains. Section 1363 paragraph 2 of the Civil Code makes that expressly clear: “The assets of each spouse do not become their joint assets; this also applies to assets acquired by a spouse after the marriage.”