KBC Bank is the first Belgian bank to offer regulated crypto trading via Bolero. Here is what it means for your crypto taxes in 2026.
Belgium has reached a regulatory milestone. KBC Bank, the country's second-largest bank with roughly 4 million customers, began offering Bitcoin and Ether through the Bolero investment platform in the week of 16 February 2026. It is the first time a major Belgian bank has offered regulated crypto trading to retail customers, and it ushers in a new chapter for crypto in Belgium.
What KBC offers exactly
The product is simple: KBC customers can buy and sell Bitcoin and Ether directly within Bolero. Before you get access, you have to complete a risk test, in line with the investor protection requirements under MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation).
There is one important caveat: the model is "closed". You can trade within the platform, but you cannot withdraw your crypto to a personal wallet or send it to an external exchange. KBC manages custody of the assets on your behalf, and your coins stay within their ecosystem.
This is relevant for tax purposes, as we explain below.
The MiCA angle
KBC operates under a CASP notification (Crypto-Asset Service Provider) filed with the NBB (National Bank of Belgium). This is the Belgian implementation of the MiCA transitional regime, which allows established financial institutions to offer crypto services while the full licensing framework is rolled out across the EU.
MiCA creates a harmonized legal framework across all EU member states and replaces the patchwork of national directives that existed before. For Belgian crypto users it is telling that a major bank operates under this framework: it signals that crypto services in Belgium are evolving toward the same regulated infrastructure as traditional financial products.
What this means for your taxes
If you trade crypto via KBC Bolero, your transactions still generate taxable events under Belgian tax law. The new 10% capital gains tax applies to crypto sold from 1 January 2026 onward, regardless of where the trade takes place: on a DEX, a centralized exchange or a bank platform.
A few specific points:
KBC provides a transaction history. Because the platform is closed and fully custodial, KBC keeps a complete record of all your purchases and sales. This makes importing your data relatively easy compared to tracking wallets across multiple blockchains.
Cost basis still matters. On a bank platform too, FIFO applies. The price you paid when buying Bitcoin or Ether determines your taxable capital gain on sale. If you hold Bitcoin on both KBC and other platforms, your lots have to be tracked across all accounts to calculate the capital gains correctly.
Withdrawals are not possible. The closed model means there are no outgoing transfers to self-custody wallets. This eliminates a common source of complexity (matching deposits and withdrawals across platforms), but also means your KBC holdings are fully separate from any on-chain activity elsewhere.
Staking and rewards are not mentioned. At launch, KBC appears to offer only simple buy/sell functionality without yield features. Should this change, any staking rewards or similar income would be taxable at 30% as movable income (roerende inkomsten) under Belgian law.
A broader shift
KBC's entry into this market does not stand alone. It reflects a broader pattern in Europe where traditional financial institutions apply for MiCA licenses to offer crypto services. For Belgian retail investors this means crypto is becoming increasingly accessible through channels they already trust and use.
It also means that the Belgian tax authority (FOD Financiën) will receive more structured reporting on crypto activity. Under DAC8, financial institutions, including MiCA-regulated CASPs, are required to report crypto transactions automatically to tax authorities from 2026. Transactions carried out on KBC Bolero fall within this reporting framework.
If you have treated your crypto activity informally until now, the combination of crypto via bank products and automatic tax reporting is a strong signal that 2026 is the year to get your records in order.
Using Cryptotax for KBC transactions
Cryptotax supports CSV imports from exchanges and platforms that provide transaction histories. If KBC offers a downloadable transaction export from Bolero (which regulated platforms are required to provide), you can import it and have your capital gains calculated automatically alongside any other exchanges or wallets you use.
Your full Belgian crypto tax overview belongs in one place, whether your activity runs through Kraken, Ethereum wallets or now KBC Bolero.
Do you have questions about how KBC transactions affect your 2026 tax return? Cryptotax is built precisely for this: Belgian crypto tax compliance, handled correctly.
