Chainalysis estimates $457B in taxable crypto activity, says CARF misses most
Chainalysis estimates at least $457 billion in potentially taxable onchain crypto activity globally in 2025. The US accounts for about $112.6 billion, with North America leading regions at $134.6 billion, followed by the EU at $125.1 billion. The estimate includes realized gains, mining, staking, lending income, and crypto payments across six major blockchains, but excludes centralized-exchange activity. The OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) appears to cover only about 14% of this activity. The remaining 86% is mostly tied to decentralized exchanges, peer-to-peer transfers, onchain income, and payments. CARF began data collection in 2026 across 48 jurisdictions and requires covered crypto intermediaries to collect customer and tax residency information and report transaction data to tax authorities. Its intermediary-based design leaves much of DeFi outside the reporting perimeter.
