We return to the blog with a new article on cryptocurrencies.

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And we do so with the aim of clarifying some tax issues that we did not touch upon in the article “Cryptocurrencies and their taxation”, which we highly recommend reading to have a sufficient basis for understanding this article. Specifically, we are going to explain how cryptocurrency pre-sales are taxed and their main scenarios. However, before developing this issue, we must explain what we mean by the term “Pre-sale”.

In a simplified way, a “Pre-sale” is the participation by an investor in the initial fundraising phase of a project, providing capital with the promise of receiving an asset in exchange, usually in the form of cryptocurrencies, at a lower price than its public listing. This comes with the disadvantage of receiving the cryptocurrencies periodically, which means a lock-up of the initial investment, or vesting periods, which will prevent the investor from selling until the unlock date.

For example, an individual decides to invest in a new crypto project in which they see good long-term revaluation potential. Through different digital fundraising tools, they manage to invest €1,000 in said project at a price of €1 per unit of the cryptocurrency, resulting in a total of 1,000 cryptocurrencies/shares in said project. The day the investment was carried out was June 1, 2021, and the project's public launch date is December 1, 2021. The investment conditions indicate that on launch day only 10% of their investment is unlocked, i.e., 100 tokens, and that on the 1st of each month, another 10% of their investment will be unlocked. How is this investment taxed?

Firstly, regarding the Income Tax Return (IRPF), the sale or exchange of cryptocurrencies received in a “Pre-sale” is taxed like any other cryptocurrency transaction, based on the purchase value, which in this case we already have (€1 per unit), and the sale value. If the sale value is higher than €1, it would generate a capital gain, and if it is lower than €1, it would generate a capital loss. In this case, there would be taxation only if the investor decides to sell or exchange the 100 cryptocurrencies unlocked on December 1st.

Secondly, regarding the Wealth Tax Declaration, we must look at the value of the units acquired at the close of the fiscal year, i.e., as of December 31st. Therefore, the 1,000 cryptocurrencies would be valued in their entirety, and not just the 10% distributed to date. Remember that this declaration must only be filed by those who exceed a specific asset value.

What if the project delays its launch until 2022? In that case, we would not have to pay tax in the Income Tax Return because there is only an acquisition and no exchange or sale of the cryptocurrencies, and the 1,000 cryptocurrencies would be valued at their acquisition price for the Wealth Tax Declaration.

We hope that with this article, we have clarified the main doubts for everyone venturing into investing in “Pre-sales,” and we invite you to consult us with any questions before filing the corresponding tax returns, as taxation is subject to change, especially in something as premature as cryptocurrencies.