Germany’s AfD Demands Fewer Regulations on Bitcoin as MiCA Takes Effect

In the petition, the AfD argues Bitcoin needs to be treated differently than other crypto-assets since it was conceived as a decentralized, non-manipulable and limited-supply digital asset. The petition states that Bitcoin is fundamentally different from other crypto assets and should not therefore be treated to the full regulatory scope of the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation (MiCA — Markets in Crypto‑Assets Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/1114).

AfD fears that indiscriminate extension of MiCA's requirements to Bitcoin, e.g., stringent registration, authorization or supervision of wallets, nodes and infrastructure, would choke Germany's innovation ecosystem, drive capital and tech firms abroad, undermine digital sovereignty and limit financial freedom. Specifically, the motion demands homemade mining activities, private Lightning-node hosting and non-custodial wallets not be treated as commercial business activities.

On the tax front, the motion calls for the current one-year holding period for tax-free gains on Bitcoin, under German income tax law for private sales of cryptocurrency, to be securely maintained at 12 months. The AfD would also like to see the federal government issue a strategic statement on Bitcoin's role as free, digital money in the 21st century, including its technological, energy- and monetary-policy implications.

The timing of the motion also aligns with Germany's ongoing transposition of MiCA, which creates a harmonized regime across the EU for crypto-assets other than already-excluded instruments. MiCA is broadly expected to bring tighter supervision to crypto exchanges, wallet providers, stablecoins and asset-referenced tokens. The AfD's motion attempts to carve out Bitcoin ahead of the national MiCA transposition process.

From an industry standpoint, the AfD's approach underscores a growing divide between mainstream regulators who favor investor protection, financial stability and parts of the crypto- community that stress innovation, decentralization and minimal state intervention. The AfD's framing of Bitcoin as a potential component of monetary sovereignty and energy integration resonates with themes popular in pro-Bitcoin communities globally.

Skeptics point to several unresolved issues, though. First, the suggestion that Bitcoin may serve as "free, digital money" on a national level raises issues of monetary policy, legal tender status and systemic risk. Second, exempting non-custodial wallets or mining-nodes from regulation may render it challenging to apply the already prevailing AML, which in Germany is regulated by the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin). Third, the qualitative distinction between Bitcoin and other crypto assets, while technically feasible, may not relax regulatory constraints if the ecosystem surrounding them remains interlinked.

For the federal government, the movement adds another factor in the general regulatory landscape. While the governing coalition is committed to implementing MiCA and bringing regulation to digital finance, the AfD's popularity may force a debate on whether it makes sense to have a custom regulatory regime for Bitcoin within the EU-wide framework. Any carve-out can expect to face pushback on regulatory arbitrage and single-market grounds.

AfD demands that the government respond in the form of a statement, although the motion is not legally binding on the executive in parliament. Therefore, its destiny will depend on whether other Bundestag parties support the motion, if the government adopts part of its recommendations, and how MiCA transposition is shaped in Berlin.

For crypto-market participants and policy watchers alike, the lesson is that the German regulatory environment continues to be dynamic in regard to digital assets. The AfD motion represents one strand of German political thought that considers Bitcoin less as a speculative asset but more as a strategic infrastructure and monetary tool, a perspective that will possibly gain more prominence as Europe grapples with stablecoins, CBDCs and digital-asset regulation.