US Crypto Transactions Face New Tax Reporting Rules

According to Cointelegraph, cryptocurrency transactions in the United States will soon be subject to third-party tax reporting requirements, marking a significant shift in regulatory oversight as digital asset valuations continue to rise. Starting in 2025, centralized crypto exchanges (CEXs) and other brokers will be required to report sales and exchanges of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, as per the final regulation published by the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This move is intended to assist investors in filing accurate tax returns related to digital asset transactions and to address potential noncompliance issues within the digital currency sector, according to an IRS report issued in June 2024. Some investors view this regulatory change as an overreach, potentially driving more users towards decentralized trading platforms. Anndy Lian, an author and intergovernmental blockchain expert, highlighted the risk of users migrating to decentralized platforms like Uniswap or PancakeSwap. Lian noted that this shift could create a paradox where the IRS's efforts to increase tax revenue might inadvertently push users towards environments where tax enforcement is currently challenging. Reflecting the crypto industry's backlash, the Blockchain Association filed a lawsuit against the IRS in December 2024, arguing that the rules are unconstitutional as they include decentralized exchanges (DEXs) under the 'broker' term, thereby extending data collection requirements to them. While crypto transactions on decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols are currently difficult for tax authorities to trace due to the absence of central intermediaries, advancements in blockchain analytics could make DeFi transactions more traceable by 2027, according to Lian. He suggested that while decentralized systems pose challenges for tax enforcement now, future developments in blockchain analytics and regulatory measures could alter this landscape. To prevent a potential exodus of users, Lian emphasized the need for specialized tax brackets that consider the high volatility and significant retail participation in the crypto market, arguing that treating crypto gains the same as traditional capital gains may not always be equitable. The rising valuations of cryptocurrencies have also attracted the attention of other jurisdictions. European retail investors should prepare for taxation following the implementation of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, as noted by Dmitrij Radin, founder of Zekret and chief technology officer of Fideum, a regulatory and blockchain infrastructure firm. Radin stated that retail users will be required to provide information and data, which will be scrutinized, leading to increased taxation for most Europeans. MiCA, the world's first comprehensive regulatory crypto framework, went into full effect for crypto-asset service providers on December 30.