German lower house passes provisional seizure measure for suspicious-origin virtual assets exceeding 100,000 euros

Germany’s Bundestag passed legislation allowing customs authorities to provisionally seize cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin (BTC) before criminal proceedings begin when there is concrete suspicion that the assets’ origin may be unlawful, with holdings above €100,000 the main target—though value alone cannot justify seizure. The measure is an administrative interim seizure procedure, and the finance court will decide on final confiscation. Key provisions are set to take effect on January 1, 2027. The change matters because it lowers the procedural bar for authorities to secure large crypto holdings during investigations, and the next thing to watch is how customs applies the “concrete suspicion” standard once the rules take effect.