IRS finalizes new regulations for crypto tax reporting

Crypto platforms will need to report transactions to the Internal Revenue Service, starting in 2026. However, decentralized platforms that don’t hold assets themselves will be exempt.

Those are the main takeaways from new regulations that the IRS and U.S. Department of Treasury finalized Friday — essentially implementing a provision of the Biden Administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was passed in 2021.

Gains from selling crypto and other digital assets are taxable even without these new regulations; however, there was no real standardization around how those gains were reported to individual investors and to the government. Beginning in 2026 (covering transactions in 2025), crypto platforms must provide a standard 1099 form, similar to the ones sent by banks and traditional brokerages.