Chainalysis: $457B in Crypto Activity Potentially Taxable, CARF Covers 14%

A new report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis reveals that global potentially taxable cryptocurrency activity on public blockchains reached at least $457 billion in 2025, but the primary international tax reporting framework is set to capture only a small fraction of it. The findings highlight a significant gap between the scale of digital asset transactions and the reach of current regulatory tools.

According to the report, published on August 26, 2026, the $457 billion figure represents a conservative estimate of onchain activity that could be subject to taxation. This includes realized capital gains, income from activities like mining, staking, and lending, as well as cryptocurrency-denominated payments. The analysis covers six major blockchains, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, but excludes trading and other activity conducted within centralized exchanges, meaning the true total is likely higher.

Regionally, North America led with an estimated $134.6 billion in taxable activity, followed by the European Union at $125.1 billion. The United States alone accounted for $112.6 billion of the global total. The report notes that for some smaller economies, the sums are...