Key Takeaways
- • Under-18s cannot open accounts at major German crypto exchanges, because providers set the minimum age at 18 in their terms of business, not because of crypto regulation.
- • A purchase by a minor without parental consent stays provisionally invalid under Section 108 BGB, and Section 110 BGB's pocket-money rule does not cover account opening because it is a continuing obligation.
- • Two routes remain: parents buy in their own name and then gift the coins, or the child holds crypto exchange-traded notes in a junior securities account, which carries different tax treatment.
- • Gifts to children are exempt up to 400,000 euros per parent under Section 16 ErbStG, with notification to the tax office required within three months under Section 30 ErbStG.
- • Gifted coins carry the donor's acquisition date under Section 23(1) EStG, so a child can sell tax-free immediately if the parent held them for over one year, and gains below 1,000 euros are tax-free.
Summary
Buying Bitcoin for a child under 18 in Germany is not possible directly through the large crypto exchanges, according to the guide published on CryptoTicker.io. The article states that no statute prevents a minor from owning Bitcoin, but providers will not accept minors as customers, and a contract concluded without parental consent remains provisionally invalid under Section 108 BGB. Under that provision, parents have two weeks to approve or refuse once the counterparty asks, and silence counts as refusal.
The pocket-money rule in Section 110 BGB does not solve the problem. It covers one-off payments made from means given to the minor, but opening an exchange account is a continuing framework agreement covering custody, identification and fees, which is not performed in full at signing. The age-18 limit comes from exchange terms, such as those of Bitpanda, rather than from MiCA or anti-money-laundering law, which require identification but set no minimum age. Using an adult friend's or sibling's account breaches provider terms and leaves balances in that adult's name.
The article describes two alternatives. In the parent account route, the parent is the legal owner, so the child has no claim until a transfer occurs, and the holding could fall into the parent's insolvency estate, inheritance or divorce settlement. Parents act jointly under Section 1629 BGB where both have custody. In the junior account route, banks and brokers may offer securities accounts for minors that hold crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs), which track prices without custody but carry issuer default risk. ETNs fall under flat-rate withholding tax on investment income, while directly held coins fall under private disposal rules, so the two routes produce different tax outcomes. Whether a given institution permits crypto ETNs in minors' accounts depends on its terms.
Gifting is presented as the cleanest route. Under Section 16 ErbStG, children may receive up to 400,000 euros per parent tax-free, so two parents can transfer 800,000 euros, with transfers from the same person aggregated over ten years under Section 14 ErbStG. Under Section 30 ErbStG, the recipient must notify the tax office in writing within three months, except where a notary records the gift. The article notes that valuation is set at the date of transfer.
On taxation, the child is the taxpayer if it owns the coins. Under Section 23 EStG, a sale within one year of acquisition is taxable as a private disposal, and gains after one year are tax-free. For gifted coins, Section 23(1) third sentence EStG attributes the donor's acquisition date to the recipient, so a child may sell tax-free immediately if the parent held the coins for more than a year. Gains totalling less than 1,000 euros in a calendar year are exempt under Section 23(3) fifth sentence EStG, and the 2026 basic personal allowance under Section 32a EStG is 12,348 euros. The article notes that gifting before sale typically shifts the gain to the child's lower personal rate, while selling before gifting leaves the gain with the parent.
The pocket-money rule in Section 110 BGB does not solve the problem. It covers one-off payments made from means given to the minor, but opening an exchange account is a continuing framework agreement covering custody, identification and fees, which is not performed in full at signing. The age-18 limit comes from exchange terms, such as those of Bitpanda, rather than from MiCA or anti-money-laundering law, which require identification but set no minimum age. Using an adult friend's or sibling's account breaches provider terms and leaves balances in that adult's name.
The article describes two alternatives. In the parent account route, the parent is the legal owner, so the child has no claim until a transfer occurs, and the holding could fall into the parent's insolvency estate, inheritance or divorce settlement. Parents act jointly under Section 1629 BGB where both have custody. In the junior account route, banks and brokers may offer securities accounts for minors that hold crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs), which track prices without custody but carry issuer default risk. ETNs fall under flat-rate withholding tax on investment income, while directly held coins fall under private disposal rules, so the two routes produce different tax outcomes. Whether a given institution permits crypto ETNs in minors' accounts depends on its terms.
Gifting is presented as the cleanest route. Under Section 16 ErbStG, children may receive up to 400,000 euros per parent tax-free, so two parents can transfer 800,000 euros, with transfers from the same person aggregated over ten years under Section 14 ErbStG. Under Section 30 ErbStG, the recipient must notify the tax office in writing within three months, except where a notary records the gift. The article notes that valuation is set at the date of transfer.
On taxation, the child is the taxpayer if it owns the coins. Under Section 23 EStG, a sale within one year of acquisition is taxable as a private disposal, and gains after one year are tax-free. For gifted coins, Section 23(1) third sentence EStG attributes the donor's acquisition date to the recipient, so a child may sell tax-free immediately if the parent held the coins for more than a year. Gains totalling less than 1,000 euros in a calendar year are exempt under Section 23(3) fifth sentence EStG, and the 2026 basic personal allowance under Section 32a EStG is 12,348 euros. The article notes that gifting before sale typically shifts the gain to the child's lower personal rate, while selling before gifting leaves the gain with the parent.
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