2024 Crypto Tax Year In Review

The crypto tax space saw significant developments in 2024. As 2025 ushers in new regulatory shifts (as our colleagues discussed here), tax changes may be on the horizon. In anticipation, this review revisits crypto tax developments from the past year.

1. The Treasury and IRS released two sets of final crypto reporting regulations.

The first set, in July, imposed new reporting rules for custodial brokers (which we discussed here). And the second set, in December, imposed rules for DeFi (which we discussed here).

The final regulations for DeFi apply to sales of digital assets occurring on or after January 1, 2027. However, multiple challenges could prevent them from taking effect. We previously wrote about three DeFi groups challenging them in court. More recently, they have also faced challenges in Congress.