Starting January 1, 2026, a Crypto Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) will be implemented, fundamentally changing the approach to the taxation of digital assets in 48 countries. At the same time, significant changes in the legal regulation of cryptocurrencies are also occurring in several Central Asian countries.
CARF: The Beginning of a New Era in Tax Regulation
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has officially initiated a system for the automated exchange of tax information related to crypto assets. Now, cryptocurrency service providers are required to collect and transmit detailed information about users and their transactions to tax authorities.
The first reports will be submitted in 2027, covering the year 2026. After that, international data exchange between the tax authorities of participating countries will commence.
In the European Union, alongside CARF, the DAC8 directive is in effect, requiring crypto platforms to start collecting data on transactions of EU resident users from January 1, with the first report to be submitted between January and September 2027.
Tightening Control in the UK
The UK tax authority (HMRC) has confirmed the application of CARF starting in 2026. British cryptocurrency providers will not only have to collect tax information but also conduct comprehensive checks on their users annually.
A distinctive feature of the British approach is that the first report will be submitted between January 1 and May 31, 2027, while subsequent reports must be submitted by May 31 of each year for the previous calendar year.
The system covers all types of cryptocurrency transactions, including the exchange of digital currencies for fiat money, exchanges between different digital assets, transfers between wallets, and even some NFTs.
What Awaits the Market
The introduced rules will impact key aspects of the crypto industry. The automatic exchange of tax information between dozens of countries will make it difficult to conceal income from digital asset transactions.
Platforms will be forced to implement strict user identification procedures and meticulously track all transactions, which will call into question the anonymity that has long been considered one of the main advantages of cryptocurrencies.
Global synchronization of tax regulation marks a transition to more institutional development of the industry. This will create more stable conditions for business but will also require significant investments in compliance with regulatory requirements.
Artificial Intelligence's Opinion
From a data analysis perspective, the current situation resembles the implementation of automatic banking information exchange in the 2010s. At that time, the offshore industry did not disappear but transformed, with new jurisdictions and schemes emerging. CARF covers centralized platforms; however, decentralized protocols remain in a gray area.
Historical models show that the stricter the regulation, the faster evasion technologies develop. Decentralized exchanges, direct wallet-to-wallet exchanges, and anonymous cryptocurrencies may receive a new impetus for their development. The paradox is that control efforts often lead to the creation of more sophisticated methods of concealing transactions. The question remains open: will the crypto industry remain within the regulatory framework or slip into the shadows of the digital economy?
Source: hashtelegraph.com
