The crypto do not have legal value and cannot be seized: here is the ruling of the Cassazione

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According to the report by the Supreme Court of Cassation in the latest ruling on January 15, 2025, crypto are not considered as potentially seizable assets.

In fact, digital currencies like Bitcoin do not yet have a legal value in Italy and therefore cannot be seized in advance by the tax authorities in case of tax evasion.

This interpretation could, however, undergo future revisions in light of the adoption of the MiCAR Regulation, which introduces a clearer and more rigorous regulatory framework for the management of crypto-assets.

Let’s see all the details below.

Judgment no. 1760/2025 of the Cassazione: crypto cannot be seized

Wednesday, January 15, 2025, the Supreme Court of Cassation ruled on the issue of tax crimes, stating that crypto are not considered seizable.

With the ruling n.1760/2025 it was established that the precautionary measure of preventive seizure of crypto assets is not legitimate in the case of tax evasion.

This decision by the Cassazione is motivated by the fact that digital currencies like Bitcoin do not have legal tender status in Italy and are not recognized as a means of payment with liberating effects. They are not subject to the regulations governing the circulation and exchange of currencies legally recognized by the State.

Cryptocurrencies indeed represent a “virtual value” not guaranteed by the exercise of authoritative powers of a central bank or a public entity.

Their quotation is not consequently correlatable to the trend of the euro, which constitutes the fiat currency with which the same tax debt towards the Treasury is expressed.

There are also no institutions and/or state bodies that can guarantee a stable value of crypto at the time of potential conversion into fiat.

In summary, the conversion into digital currencies of the amount that can be seized in euros as profit from the violation of the fiscal legislation is unlawful.

Therefore, in the case of a tax offense, the tax authorities cannot appeal to the crypto assets of the suspect with the latter being ultimately defined as non-seizable.

This interpretation by the Cassazione has sparked many controversies regarding the legal position of crypto in Italy, despite their growing worldwide adoption.

The lawyer and YouTuber Angelo Greco has published a short video on the subject, highlighting how thanks to crypto one can practically manage to avoid paying taxes!

MiCAR and regulation of crypto activities: potential future implications

Clearly, the decision of the Cassazione to indicate crypto as assets that are not seizable in the case of a tax crime could change significantly in the future.

Currently, digital tokens do not have legal value in Italy, but with the arrival of the MiCAR (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation), it is possible that they will be treated differently in the case of financial crimes.

This regulation is aimed precisely at regulating crypto-assets, offering greater transparency, security, and protection to the market and investors.

Furthermore, with the latest Legislative Decree 129/2024, new rules have been introduced to comply with MiCAR, establishing a clear legal framework for the crypto sector.

This could lead the Cassazione to review the management of the probative seizure in cases of crimes against the Italian tax authorities.

Nothing strange if you consider that the cryptocurrency market is worth 3.5 trillion dollars, more than the GDP recorded by Italy in 2023 (2.255 trillion euros).

Bitcoin and all other crypto assets are becoming increasingly popular in the eyes of small and large investors, and consequently, it is likely that they will start to be treated differently from a legal and tax perspective.

Furthermore, after the recent entry into the sector by the bank Intesa San Paolo, it is possible that the institutions will be forced to intervene in this regard.

The judiciary might offer new interpretations at any moment, legalizing crypto as legal tender and accepting their probative sequesterability.

At that point, only crypto assets held in complete anonymity, despite it being illegal not to declare their possession, will still be impossible to seize.

This obviously applies as long as the same crypto are not discovered by the tax authorities, in a manner comparable to undeclared cash, with the application of heavy penalties.

How to increase privacy and make your digital assets non-seizable

Beyond the future rulings of the Court of Cassation, crypto will always be impossible to seize if their possession is unknown.

As you well know, however, digital coins are “pseudo-anonymous,” meaning they are considered anonymous until the holder publicly reveals their identity.

There are several methods for increasing the privacy component and effectively making it impossible to associate a value in crypto with one’s assets.

First of all, it is clear that as long as cryptocurrencies are purchased and held on CEX with full KYC verification, it remains impossible to guarantee non-traceability.

Instead, if they are purchased through P2P exchange or on exchanges that do not require KYC, we already have an excellent starting point.

Then, if the same crypto are stored on a private wallet of which no trace has ever been left online (e.g., deposit on CEX, connection with centralized apps), one’s privacy is significantly improved.

Holding Bitcoin or other digital assets in an wallet that is undeclared and unknown to the Revenue Agency makes it indeed complex, if not impossible, for the Tax Authority to associate the ownership with a physical and/or legal person.

As a result, it seems difficult to think that the State can establish a preventive seizure where there are no elements for the sequesterability, especially in the absence of competent bodies and institutions.

This situation becomes even more complex if you consider that the person under investigation for evidentiary offense, even in the case of detection of crypto possession by the ADE, could easily declare that they do not have access to the private keys of the wallet.

We remind you, however, that omitting the possession of crypto during the tax declaration is a crime punishable by administrative and criminal penalties. With this article, we do not want to provide “instructions” to omit your tax obligations. Rather, we want to highlight the incompatibility of potential seizure measures with the current detection and traceability systems of crypto activities.

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