Contributing crypto to a US LLC: Spain's Modelos 720 and 721

Spain's V0848-26 ruling confirms that contributed crypto becomes LLC property. Understand ownership, custody, company interests and reporting.

Contributing cryptoassets to a US LLC is not simply a transfer from one wallet to another. It is a corporate transaction: the LLC receives the assets as an equity contribution, becomes their legal owner and the member retains an interest in the company. Spanish binding ruling V0848-26, issued on 21 April 2026, provides an unusually clear framework for understanding that change.

The most useful conclusion is both positive and precise. Spain's Directorate-General for Taxation proceeds on the basis that the LLC has its own legal personality under company law, even when it is treated as a disregarded entity for certain US federal tax purposes. The assets contributed therefore belong to the company, not directly to its member.

This does not mean that every reporting question disappears. It means something more valuable: corporate ownership is real, and Spanish Forms 720 and 721 must be tested against different assets, owners and custody arrangements.

What ruling V0848-26 actually decides

The facts concern an individual resident in Spain who formed a single-member US LLC to hold cryptoassets for the long term. The member then made a non-cash contribution from a personal wallet to the LLC's equity.

The ruling addresses two independent information returns:

1. Modelo 721, which covers certain virtual currencies held abroad.
2. Modelo 720, which in this case concerns the member's interest in a foreign entity.

The ruling does not collapse the LLC into its owner. It first identifies who owns each asset and then applies the relevant reporting framework.

An on-chain transfer alone does not prove a contribution. The corporate approval, valuation, date, wallets, books and custodian records must all support the same ownership change.

The LLC becomes the owner of the cryptoassets

The DGT states that the LLC owns the virtual currencies from the moment the member contributes them to the company's equity. Disregarded status in the United States does not undo that company-law ownership.

The distinction matters. The member no longer owns each bitcoin, ether or stablecoin contributed. The member owns rights in the LLC under its Operating Agreement. The LLC can then hold, exchange, invest or use the assets within its purpose and under properly authorised decisions.

This structure separates:

• personal wealth from corporate treasury;
• personal wallets from LLC wallets;
• individual choices from documented company decisions;
• private transactions from business or investment activity;
• key access, permissions and approval thresholds among authorised signers.

A properly operated LLC is not a company label placed over a personal wallet. It is a business with its own assets, defined authority and a record capable of explaining the origin and ownership of every position.

How Modelo 721 applies

Modelo 721 focuses on virtual currencies situated abroad and held through third-party custodians, together with the people and entities included within its personal scope. The Spanish Tax Agency expressly distinguishes custody by a foreign provider from direct control of private keys in a non-custodial wallet.

In V0848-26, the non-Spanish-resident LLC falls outside the personal scope of Modelo 721. Once the contribution is complete, the LLC rather than the member owns the cryptoassets.

The member's prior history still matters:

• if no previous filing duty arose because the threshold was not met or the assets were self-custodied, the review starts from those facts;
• if the assets had already been reported and the contribution ends the member's status as owner, beneficiary, authorised person or person with disposal powers, an extinction report may be required;
• if the member retains material control over an account presented as corporate, the operational reality must be corrected before drawing a conclusion;
• if the LLC uses a custodian, the account should be opened and verified in the company's legal name.

The goal is not to move an amount from one form to another. The goal is for ownership, control and custody to be genuinely corporate.

How Modelo 720 applies

By contributing the assets, the member receives or consolidates an interest in the LLC. V0848-26 analyses that interest as a security or right representing an interest in a foreign legal entity for the purposes of Article 42 ter of Spain's General Tax Regulations.

The reportable object is therefore no longer the LLC's underlying cryptoassets. It is the Spanish resident's corporate interest. The ruling refers to the valuation rules in Article 16.One of Spain's Wealth Tax Act and recognises that the exemptions and thresholds within Modelo 720 remain relevant.

Two principles follow:

1. Modelo 720 and Modelo 721 do not mechanically replace one another. They examine different property and legal relationships.
2. The member does not report company-owned crypto as personal property. The member assesses the corporate interest under the rules that apply to it.

Valuing a crypto-holding LLC should not be reduced to the balance visible in one wallet. Equity, net assets, approved financial statements, contribution history and the applicable valuation method need to agree.

Structure my cryptoassets through a US LLC

What the ruling confirms and what remains a separate analysis

V0848-26 gives the ownership analysis a strong foundation: it accepts the LLC's legal personality, recognises the contribution to company equity and separates the cryptoassets from the member's company interest.

The ruling answers questions about Modelos 720 and 721. It does not by itself determine the company's effective tax residence, the tax treatment of the contribution, the LLC's complete Spanish classification or the taxation of every future return. Those questions depend on the actual federal classification, activity, management, custody, number of members, decisions and owner residence.

That distinction strengthens the structure. It allows the positive conclusion on corporate ownership to stand on its own, without stretching it into answers that require a different legal test.

Why a US LLC can be a strong crypto structure

A US LLC can bring wallets, bank accounts, exchanges, brokers, payment providers and contracts under one corporate identity. For investing, treasury or digital-asset operations, that creates capabilities a personal portfolio cannot offer with the same clarity.

Asset separation

Corporate assets belong to the LLC. Its Operating Agreement defines ownership, management, authority and economic rights. Separate funds, access controls and expenses reinforce limited liability and prevent personal and investment decisions from becoming mixed.

Treasury policy

The company can document how much it keeps in USD, EUR, USDC or other assets, which custodians are approved, what exposure limits apply, who can move funds and when dual approval is required.

Corporate financial access

Subject to eligibility, activity and jurisdiction, the LLC may use business exchanges, banking, payment providers, on-ramps, off-ramps and brokers under the same legal name. The real advantage is that every provider sees the same company, ownership and source-of-funds narrative.

Continuity and governance

Key policies, access recovery, manager authority and future member admissions can be documented. The operation no longer depends on one personal account and becomes a transferable, reviewable corporate system.

How to make a crypto contribution properly

Treat the contribution as a complete corporate transaction:

1. Review the Operating Agreement. It should permit the contribution and state the member's capital or units correctly.
2. Approve the transaction. A written resolution identifies the asset, quantity, date, valuation and source and destination wallets.
3. Set the valuation. Retain the quoted price, time, market and method used for each asset.
4. Identify the transfer. Network, transaction hash, fees and addresses connect the company evidence to the blockchain.
5. Use corporate custody. The LLC governs the account or wallet under coherent access and approval policies.
6. Record the contribution. The books distinguish equity from customer revenue, asset sales and member loans.
7. Analyse the transfer tax treatment. Determine the member-level consequences before execution.
8. Update the reporting map. Review Modelos 720 and 721, beneficial ownership, financial statements and annual records.

Traceability does not remove privacy. It gives the LLC a strong private file for banks, exchanges, brokers and advisers without placing unnecessary information on a public register.

Personal custody, corporate custody and self-custody

A blockchain address does not identify legal ownership on its own. Ownership is established by the agreements, accounts, access policies, books and conduct taken together.

When this structure fits

A contribution may make sense when the LLC will maintain long-term treasury, invest through corporate accounts, receive crypto payments, use stablecoins for international operations or separate an investment strategy from other business risks.

The company does not need to be a “trading business” merely to own cryptoassets. It does need a defined purpose and consistent management. If it sells services, receives USDC or trades assets, its records should distinguish customer revenue, member contributions, asset purchases, realised results, fees and transfers between its own wallets.

As value or risk grows, separating the operating company from an investment-holding LLC may also improve clarity. The right architecture depends on activity, jurisdiction, providers, members and long-term goals.

Frequently asked questions about V0848-26, LLCs and crypto

Does contributing crypto to an LLC always eliminate Modelo 721?

There is no universal answer. A genuine contribution makes the LLC the owner, but custody, prior filings, key control and the end of any previously reported status still need to be reviewed.

Does the LLC file Spanish Modelo 721?

V0848-26 concludes that the non-resident LLC in the ruling falls outside its personal scope. A Spanish-resident entity or a foreign entity with a Spanish permanent establishment requires a different analysis.

Does the member file Modelo 720?

The LLC interest may fall within the foreign securities or rights category, subject to its valuation rules, thresholds and exemptions. The position is reviewed as of 31 December.

Does disregarded status mean the member still owns the crypto?

No. Disregarded is a federal tax classification. The DGT proceeds on the basis that the LLC has legal personality and becomes owner of the assets contributed.

Is a transfer to a new wallet enough?

No. It should be supported by a contribution agreement, resolution, valuation, corporate custody, authority and accounting entry.

Can the LLC use self-custody?

Yes. It needs a corporate key, approval and recovery policy plus evidence that the wallet belongs to the LLC. Self-custody is not the absence of governance.

Can an LLC open exchange and brokerage accounts?

Yes, subject to eligibility and KYB. State documents, EIN, Operating Agreement, ownership, signers, business activity and source of funds should tell one coherent story.

Is the contribution automatically taxed like a cash withdrawal?

No. It is a non-cash transfer to the company, not a withdrawal. Its member-level treatment depends on residence, value, basis and the rules applicable to the transaction.

From a personal portfolio to a corporate architecture

V0848-26 does not turn an LLC into a shortcut. It does something better: it clearly recognises that the company and its member are not the same owner, and that cryptoassets genuinely contributed belong to the LLC.

Exentax structures that transition end to end. We coordinate the Operating Agreement, resolution, valuation, wallets, custody, banking, exchanges, accounting and reporting map so the LLC works as a real investment or operating company, with privacy, control and strong evidence.