A comparative study of the taxation of cryptocurrencies in Latin America and Spain (2025)

This report provides a comparative and updated overview of the tax treatment of cryptocurrencies in Spain and in a representative selection of Latin American countries, highlighting the regulatory diversity, the different levels of legal certainty, and the growing importance of information and auditing obligations within the crypto ecosystem.

Based on an analysis of current legislation, administrative doctrine, and the official criteria available as of October 2025, the study examines how the main operations with crypto assets —buying and selling, cryptocurrency-to-cryptocurrency exchanges, staking, mining, airdrops, inheritances, and donations— are taxed, as well as the associated formal obligations and the possible existence of a wealth tax.

One of the key conclusions of the report is that, in general, the analyzed jurisdictions have not created specific taxes for cryptocurrencies, but have opted to integrate them into the traditional categories of their tax systems, primarily classifying them as intangible assets or property assets, and not as legal tender, with the unique exception of El Salvador regarding bitcoin. Consequently, gains derived from their disposal are usually taxed as capital gains or as ordinary income, and in most countries, the exchange of crypto assets constitutes an immediately taxable event.

The report also identifies significant differences in the degree of regulatory development. Countries like Spain, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina have relatively well-established regulatory frameworks, with defined administrative criteria and greater information requirements, while other jurisdictions show a more nascent development, where taxation depends on analogous interpretations and there is a higher tax risk for taxpayers.

Moreover, the analysis highlights a clear trend towards strengthening control and information mechanisms, even in countries without specific tax regulations, in line with international standards promoted by the OECD and the FATF. The regulatory focus is therefore shifting towards transaction traceability and automatic information exchange, rather than the creation of new tax categories.

From a practical perspective, the report emphasizes that transactions other than traditional buying and selling —such as staking, mining, or airdrops— continue to be one of the main sources of interpretative complexity, as are cost verification and estate planning in jurisdictions with wealth taxes.

Overall, this study confirms that the taxation of crypto assets is already a structural part of the analyzed tax systems, and that the challenge for taxpayers and operators is not so much the existence of taxation but rather its correct interpretation, documentation, and compliance within a rapidly changing regulatory environment subject to increasing scrutiny from tax authorities.