Crypto platforms will need to report transactions to the Internal Revenue Service, starting in 2026. However, decentralized platforms that do not hold assets themselves will be exempt.
Those are the main takeaways from New regulations Last Friday, the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of the Treasury completed a key implementation of a provision of the Biden administration’s 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Gains from the sale of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets are taxable even without these new regulations; however, there has been no real uniformity in how those holdings are reported to the government and individual investors. Starting in 2026 (covering transactions in 2025), cryptocurrency platforms must provide a standard Form 1099, similar to those sent by traditional banks and brokerage firms.
In addition to making it easier to pay taxes on cryptocurrencies, the IRS also said it is trying to crack down on tax evasion.
“We need to ensure that digital assets are not used to hide taxable income, and these final regulations will improve detection of non-compliance in the high-risk digital asset space,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Wuerfel. a permit.
But again, these regulations apply to “custodial” platforms (like Coinbase) that actually hold customer assets. Following pressure from the cryptocurrency industry, decentralized brokers that do not comply with these rules are excluded from these rules.
In fact, the Blockchain Association (an industry lobby group) It is called exclusion. “A testament to the incredibly powerful voice of our industry and our community.”
The Treasury Department and the IRS said they would cover these decentralized intermediaries in a separate set of regulations.