DAC8 and the Automatic Exchange of Crypto-Asset Information: Proportionality, Privacy and the Criminal Law Gateway

Council Directive (EU) 2023/2226 (DAC8) extends the automatic exchange of information framework to crypto-asset transactions from 1 January 2026. While principally a tax transparency instrument, DAC8 raises proportionality and data protection concerns and may expose fiscal data to repurposing in criminal proceedings. This article examines DAC8’s architecture and compatibility with articles 7 and 8 of the EU Charter, applying the Court of Justice of the European Union’s proportionality framework from La Quadrature du Net (Joined Cases C-511/18, C-512/18 and C-520/18), Prokuratuur (Case C-746/18) and Privacy International (Case C-623/17). It identifies a “criminal law gateway” through which tax data may migrate into criminal proceedings, engaging the nemo tenetur principle and the Law Enforcement Directive (2016/680). Four recommendations follow.