Bloomberg: Only 6.5% of crypto holders report transactions to the IRS, widespread underreporting observed

Foresight News reported, citing Bloomberg, that a new study shows a significant number of cryptocurrency investors may not have reported their holdings and transactions to the US Internal Revenue Service. After analyzing IRS anonymous tax data, Texas Christian University assistant professor Tyler Menzer and his co-authors found that from 2013 to 2021, only 6.5% of taxpayers reported cryptocurrency sales, while surveys during the same period indicated that 12% to 21% of US adults had held cryptocurrency.

The study found that cryptocurrency holders are more likely to hold Meme tokens, are younger, have lower incomes, and their trading behavior differs significantly from traditional stock investors. According to CoinTracker data, for the 2025 tax year, crypto investors will need to report an average of 836 transactions, with short-term holdings averaging a $636 loss and long-term holdings averaging a $2,692 gain.