Treasury and IRS Amend Digital Asset Tax Regulations

The U.S. Treasury and the IRS have amended digital asset tax regulations, effective January 2025, removing non-custodial service providers from broker definitions and upholding centralized exchange reporting rules.

This regulatory change addresses industry feedback and aims to enhance tax compliance without burdening decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, which lack user identification capabilities by design.

DeFi Broker Rule Removed Following Industry Feedback

The Treasury Department and IRS have finalized digital asset tax regulations after considering extensive public feedback. This decision removes the controversial DeFi Broker Rule, acknowledging operational challenges for decentralized protocols lacking user data.

The revisions ensure centralized exchanges like Coinbase and Robinhood comply, starting January 2025. On the contrary, DeFi platforms get excluded as they couldn’t adhere to broker reporting requirements due to structural constraints.

Centralized Exchanges Face 2025 Compliance Deadline

The amended regulations relieve DeFi developers from unreasonable compliance. Centralized exchanges face rising compliance costs, necessitating IRS Form 1099-DA. Public comments, exceeding 44,000, underscore significant community engagement.

Centralized exchanges must now report user transactions to improve tax compliance for digital assets. However, DeFi protocols anticipate increased activity due to regulatory exclusions, potentially altering market dynamics between centralized and decentralized finance.

2021 Act Changed; DeFi Legal Risks Reduced

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021 originally sought broader digital asset reporting, straining developers. This repeal reflects past analogues in SEC/CFTC frameworks, clarifying crypto definitions and lessening legal risks for DeFi.

Expert assessments foresee more equitable crypto regulations now. Julian Samuels from Kanalcoin states, “A realignment of regulatory focus can foster innovation within DeFi, potentially boosting its role in the crypto ecosystem.“

“We reviewed thousands of public comments and believe this new guidance addresses those concerns while striking a balance between industry implementation challenges and closing the tax gap related to digital assets.” – Danny Werfel, IRS Commissioner

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