Bulgaria's National Assembly has approved amendments giving tax authorities extensive access to information about cryptocurrency users and their transactions, bringing the country's reporting framework in line with European Union requirements.
Lawmakers approved the final reading of amendments to the Tax and Social Security Procedure Code on September 9, with 149 members voting in favor, none against and 10 abstaining in the 240-seat parliament.
Introduced by the Bulgarian Cabinet, the legislation transposes two EU directives designed to strengthen tax transparency and combat tax evasion involving digital assets.
The changes will allow Bulgarian revenue authorities to exchange information about individuals and companies trading crypto with tax administrations elsewhere in the EU and participating jurisdictions.
Crypto Companies Must Report Customer Information
Under the new requirements, companies providing crypto-related services will need to register and submit customer information to Bulgaria's National Revenue Agency (NRA).
The information collected can include users' names, addresses, dates and places of birth, tax residency information and tax identification numbers.
Reporting will extend beyond basic customer identification. Providers must also submit detailed information covering activity involving each type of cryptocurrency handled through their platforms.
This includes the total gross amount received, number of crypto units involved and purchases or sales conducted against fiat currencies.
Crypto-to-crypto transactions will also fall within the reporting framework, giving tax authorities significantly greater visibility into activity that previously could have been more difficult to track across different digital assets.
Bulgaria Implements EU Tax Transparency Directives
EU member states were required to transpose the relevant directives by December 31, 2025, with the framework intended to close gaps created by the growing use of cryptocurrencies across borders.
Because crypto assets can be transferred between platforms, wallets and jurisdictions, tax administrations have historically faced challenges obtaining consistent information about taxpayers' digital asset holdings and transactions.
The new framework is designed to make cross-border information sharing more systematic, allowing tax authorities to compare reported crypto activity with individuals' and businesses' tax declarations.
Supporters argue that applying similar reporting standards across member states will make it harder to use foreign crypto platforms or cross-border transactions to conceal taxable activity.
Privacy Advocates Raise Surveillance Concerns
The vote quickly generated criticism among privacy advocates and cryptocurrency users, particularly over the amount of personal information companies will be required to collect and report.
Critics argued that centralized databases combining personal identification information with detailed crypto transaction records could create privacy and security risks if the information were improperly accessed or exposed.
Some commentators also argued that the legislation extends beyond ordinary tax transparency and could amount to broader surveillance of otherwise lawful cryptocurrency activity.
Crypto traders and smaller businesses raised another concern: compliance costs.
Smaller service providers may need to invest in additional customer identification, transaction monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting infrastructure to satisfy the new requirements.
Critics warned that those expenses could disproportionately affect smaller companies and potentially reduce Bulgaria's competitiveness as a regional destination for crypto and fintech businesses.
Supporters Say Rules Close Crypto Tax Loopholes
Supporters of the amendments argue that the legislation simply brings Bulgaria into line with EU-wide standards already being implemented across the bloc.
They say greater information sharing will help authorities identify undeclared crypto income and ensure digital asset investors face reporting obligations comparable to those covering more traditional financial activities.
Financial-policy commentators supporting the changes have also described stronger crypto reporting requirements as overdue, particularly as digital asset ownership and cross-border trading have expanded.
For Bulgaria's cryptocurrency industry, the legislation represents a significant shift toward greater tax visibility and standardized reporting.
Crypto providers will increasingly act as information intermediaries between customers and tax authorities, while the NRA will gain access to both personal identification data and transaction-level cryptocurrency records.
The government argues this will close an important tax reporting gap and make international cooperation more effective. Critics, however, are likely to continue questioning whether the scope of information collected strikes the right balance between tax enforcement, financial privacy and data security.
