Kraken Pushes for Crypto Tax Reform After Massive Reporting Burden
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Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is urging US lawmakers to rethink tax rules after revealing it generated tens of millions of ultra-small transaction reports for the IRS in 2025. The exchange said it filed over 56 million 1099-DA tax forms, with roughly 18.5 million tied to transactions under $1 and about 75% under $50.
Kraken argues this creates unnecessary complexity for both taxpayers and regulators, calling for a “de minimis” exemption that would remove small, routine crypto payments from capital gains reporting requirements. The company also criticized so-called “phantom income” rules around staking rewards, where users may owe taxes on assets they have not sold.
The exchange says reform is needed because current tax systems were not designed for digital assets and are creating excessive administrative burden for millions of Americans.
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56 million tax forms for $1 transactions is peak efficiency