Stablecoins look harmless, but they are just as taxable as Bitcoin. All scenarios for USDC, USDT and DAI in Belgium, with examples.
Last updated: April 2026 Β· Reading time: 7 minutes
Stablecoins such as USDC and USDT look harmless: they track the dollar. But for tax purposes they are just as taxable as Bitcoin or Ethereum. Every swap into a stablecoin is a realisation, every swap out of a stablecoin can produce a EUR capital gain, and every unit of interest you receive counts as income.
In this article we explain when stablecoins are or are not taxable under the Belgian capital gains tax, how the EUR/USD exchange rate affects your gain, and how to calculate it in practice. We look at all the scenarios, from purchase and swap to lending, LPs and internal transfers.
π Are stablecoins taxable in Belgium?
The short answer: yes, usually. Stablecoins are crypto-assets under the Belgian capital gains tax law (approved by the Chamber on 3 April 2026, retroactive from 1 January 2026). They do not get a separate regime.
But not every interaction with a stablecoin is taxable. The distinction:
- Buying EUR β stablecoin: not a taxable event. This is simply a purchase, comparable to buying BTC or ETH.
- Crypto β stablecoin swap: taxable. You realise the capital gain on the crypto you sold. See our guide on crypto swaps and tax.
- Stablecoin β crypto swap: taxable. You sell the stablecoin, and because of EUR/USD exchange-rate movements there may be a EUR gain on it.
- Selling stablecoin β EUR: possibly taxable, again because of exchange-rate effects between the purchase and the sale moment.
- Holding stablecoins or sending them to your own wallet: not a taxable event.
- Stablecoin yield (lending, LPs): taxable as movable (investment) income or miscellaneous income.
π All taxable scenarios
| Scenario | Taxable? | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Buying EUR β USDC | No | Ordinary purchase, cost basis is recorded |
| BTC β USDC swap | Yes | Sale of BTC, capital gain on BTC via FIFO |
| USDC β ETH swap | Yes | Sale of USDC - any EUR/USD gain counts |
| Lending USDC on Aave | Yes (yield) | Interest = movable income 30% |
| USDC in an LP on Uniswap | Yes (yield) | Fees = miscellaneous or movable income (30-33%) |
| USDC to another wallet of your own | No | Internal transfer, cost basis stays |
| Selling USDC β EUR | Possibly | Gain due to EUR/USD rate change |
| Bridging USDC to Base | No | Same economic position on another chain |
π‘ The EUR/USD exchange-rate effect
Many Belgian investors think stablecoins cannot generate a capital gain. "A USDC is a dollar, that doesn't change, right?" That is true, in dollars. But your tax return is filed in euro, and USDC tracks the dollar, not the euro.
Concretely: if you buy USDC when EUR/USD is at 1,10 (1 USD = β¬0,909) and sell when EUR/USD is at 1,05 (1 USD = β¬0,952), then measured in EUR you have made a real gain, purely because of the shift in the exchange rate. That gain is taxable, exactly like a capital gain on ETH or BTC.
Cryptotax calculates this automatically. For each transaction we retrieve the historical EUR rate, so that your cost basis and your sale value are correctly expressed in euro. That is the only way to apply FIFO correctly, see our explanation of FIFO and cost basis.
π’ Worked example
Suppose: in February 2026 you buy 10.000 USDC for β¬9.090 (EUR/USD = 1,10). Six months later you swap those 10.000 USDC into ETH, when EUR/USD is at 1,05. The EUR value of the USDC at that moment: β¬9.524.
| Element | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sale value (10.000 USDC) | β¬9.524 |
| Cost basis (FIFO) | β¬9.090 |
| Capital gain | β¬434 |
That β¬434 is well below the annual exemption of β¬10.000, so on its own you pay no tax on it. But take note: the exemption applies to your total net capital gain per year, across all your crypto transactions. If you also make β¬9.800 of gains on ETH, then that β¬434 pushes you over the threshold, and the portion above β¬10.000 is taxed at 10%.
For anyone who already held their USDC before 1 January 2026, the step-up rule also applies: your cost basis is raised to the market value on 31 December 2025. That applies to stablecoins too.
π° Stablecoin yield: how is interest taxed?
As soon as you start building a return with stablecoins, you enter a different tax regime:
- Lending (Aave, Compound, Morpho): the interest received is movable (investment) income and is taxed at 30% withholding tax on movable income. See our Aave integration for how we detect this.
- Liquidity pools (Uniswap, Curve): fees are usually taxed at 30% (movable income) or 33% (miscellaneous income) depending on their nature. See also LPs and tax and the Uniswap integration.
- Auto-compounding vaults: even without an explicit payout your position grows for tax purposes. You have to document this separately.
For the full yield mechanics, rebasing, auto-compound, incentive tokens, bridging, read our in-depth guide Stablecoin yield in Belgium: how USDC and USDT are taxed.
πͺ Popular stablecoins in Belgium
For tax purposes it does not matter which stablecoin you use: they all fall under the same regime. There are, however, practical differences:
- USDC (Circle): EU MiCA-compliant, popular in Belgium with institutional and retail users.
- USDT (Tether): largest market capitalisation, but less EU transparency.
- DAI (MakerDAO/Sky): decentralised and overcollateralised. For tax purposes identical to other USD stablecoins.
- EURC (Circle): a EUR stablecoin. Here the EUR/USD exchange-rate effect disappears: your peg is in euro, so exchange-rate gains are negligible in practice.
- FRAX: hybrid algorithmic/collateral model. Same tax treatment.
EURC is therefore the calmest choice for anyone who only wants stablecoin exposure without EUR/USD noise. But most DeFi liquidity and yield opportunities are still in USDC and USDT.
β FAQ
Is a BTC to USDC swap taxable?
Yes. Every crypto-to-crypto swap is a realisation for tax purposes. You sell BTC (with the capital gain calculated via FIFO) and at the same time buy USDC (with the EUR market value as the new cost basis). Whether you swap into a stablecoin or into another volatile crypto, the mechanism is identical.
Is the EUR/USD rate taken into account?
Yes. Cryptotax uses historical EUR rates at the moment of each transaction, so that your capital gain is calculated correctly in EUR. That is crucial: without correct rate conversion your FIFO cost basis is wrong.
Are DAI, FRAX and EURC also taxable?
Yes. All stablecoins follow the same rules, regardless of whether they are USD-backed, EUR-backed, decentralised or algorithmic. The only practical difference: EURC has hardly any exchange-rate effect because it is already denominated in euro.
How does Cryptotax calculate stablecoin capital gains?
Via FIFO on a EUR basis with historical exchange rates per transaction moment. Swaps, yield and pure exchange-rate gains are categorised separately, so you immediately see which part falls under the capital gains tax and which part has to be declared as movable or miscellaneous income.
β Try it today
Want to see what your stablecoin transactions look like in a Belgian tax report? Start a free scan with Cryptotax or look at our import options. We automatically detect swaps, lending positions, LP deposits and internal transfers across Ethereum, Base and Arbitrum, and apply correct EUR rates to every transaction.
β οΈ Disclaimer: This article is purely informational and not individual tax advice. For specific cases: consult an accredited Belgian tax adviser or request a ruling from the Dienst Voorafgaande Beslissingen (the Ruling Commission / Advance Tax Rulings Office).
