American crypto investors are scared, confused about this year’s new IRS transaction reporting
A poll shows over half of US crypto investors fear IRS penalties due to new mandatory transaction reporting rules starting this year.Summary
A recent poll by Awaken Tax of 1,000 American digital asset holders revealed that more than half are fearful of receiving an IRS tax penalty due to new transparency rules taking effect. These rules mandate that brokers, like Coinbase, report all 2025 digital asset sales and exchanges using the new Form 1099-DA, shifting from self-disclosure to automatic reporting to combat tax evasion. Awaken Tax founder Andrew Duca criticized the rules as a "blunt instrument" created by legislators unfamiliar with crypto, noting that while crypto is treated like stocks, it involves complex strategies like moving assets between wallets and using DeFi protocols. Crucially, brokers can only report sales proceeds, not the tax basis (acquisition cost), meaning the forms sent to the IRS will be incomplete. The burden falls on the crypto holder to correct this missing information using Form 8949, as compliance rates are currently very low.
(Source：CoinDesk)