People who own and sell cryptocurrencies have always had to pay taxes on their profits, but new rules adopted by the US Treasury Department mean they are now guaranteed a fair amount for selling their cryptocurrencies.

The new rules require cryptocurrency platforms such as exchanges and payment processors to report user transactions to the Internal Revenue Service. According to the Wall Street Journal, officials hope the measure will deter tax evasion because the IRS knows exactly how much taxpayers owe.

At the same time, the rule makes it very easy for individuals to report income since brokers are required to file 1099 forms. The IRS last year released a draft 1099-DA (Digital Asset Income from Intermediary Transactions) form specifically designed to track cryptocurrency transactions.

The final version is expected to be available soon. The rules also set a $10,000 threshold for reporting transactions involving stablecoins, which are virtual currencies that replicate fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar.

“Digital asset investors and the IRS will now have easier access to the documents they need to file and review their tax returns,” Aviva Aaron Dine, assistant secretary for tax affairs at the Treasury Department, said in a statement. By implementing the Act’s reporting requirements, these final regulations will help taxpayers more easily pay taxes owed under current law while reducing tax evasion by wealthy investors. ”

The new rules only apply to platforms that hold digital assets, such as Coinbase and Binance. Decentralized companies are exempt and must follow separate rules that are expected to be finalized later this year. Brokers will be required to report digital asset sales for all transactions completed in 2025 starting in 2026. This means that cryptocurrency traders will still be independent in 2024.

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