Chainalysis estimates that potentially taxable on‑chain cryptocurrency activity reached at least $457 billion globally in 2025. The analysis includes realized gains, income from mining, staking and lending, and crypto‑denominated payments on six major blockchains, but excludes activity on centralized exchanges.
The United States accounts for an estimated $112.6 billion of the total, while North America leads all regions with $134.6 billion, followed by the European Union with $125.1 billion.
CARF coverage
According to the report, transactions covered by the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development’s Crypto‑Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) represent only 14% of the identified on‑chain taxable activity. The remaining 86% consists of activity on decentralized exchanges, peer‑to‑peer transfers, on‑chain income streams and payments.
Scope of CARF
CARF, introduced in 2022, requires covered crypto service providers to collect customer and tax‑residency information and report transaction data to domestic tax authorities, which may then share the data across borders. Data collection under CARF began on Jan. 1, 2026 in 48 jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and the European Union.
The framework focuses on intermediaries that facilitate crypto transactions as a business, leaving much of decentralized finance outside its reporting perimeter because of the lack of a centralized operator or custodial relationship.
Potential regulatory developments
Regulators are monitoring developments in anti‑money‑laundering rules and may consider extending reporting obligations to decentralized platforms, according to a former OECD adviser involved in CARF.
