Chainalysis said in its latest report that global potentially taxable on-chain crypto activity will reach at least $457 billion in 2025, while the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, or CARF, covers only about 14% of that on-chain taxable activity.
By region, North America ranked first at $134.6 billion, followed by the European Union at $125.1 billion. By country, the United States accounted for about $112.6 billion.
What the estimate includes
The estimate covers realized gains, income from mining, staking, and lending, as well as payments denominated in crypto assets. It does not include trading activity that occurs within centralized exchanges.
CARF data collection starts in 2026
According to the report, CARF will begin collecting data on Jan. 1, 2026 across 48 jurisdictions, including the U.K. and the EU. The framework requires eligible crypto platforms to collect customer information and tax residency details, then report transaction data to domestic tax authorities for cross-border exchange.
Gap in coverage leaves out much of DeFi
The report said the main reason for the coverage gap is CARF’s intermediary-centered design. Colby Mangels, a former OECD adviser who participated in the development of CARF, said the framework was designed around intermediaries whose business involves crypto transactions. As a result, a large amount of decentralized finance, or DeFi, activity falls outside the reporting scope because there is no centralized operator or custodial relationship.
Mangels added that tax authorities are watching anti-money laundering regulatory developments, including when DeFi platforms or their operators should be treated as regulated crypto-asset service providers.