The IRS treats cryptocurrency as property — every disposition is a taxable event triggering capital gains or losses. Selling crypto for fiat, swapping one crypto for another, using crypto to buy goods, or earning crypto (mining, staking, airdrops) are all taxable. Holding period determines short-term (ordinary rates) vs. long-term (preferential rates) treatment. Cost basis tracking is critical and complex — every wallet transaction must be recorded. Software (Koinly, CoinTracker, ZenLedger) imports exchange and on-chain data, generates 8949 forms. The 2026 reporting (Form 1099-DA) increases broker reporting requirements significantly. Tax-loss harvesting works in crypto — and there's no wash-sale rule (currently).
Article
Airdrop
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Bitcoin halving is the programmed event occurring roughly every 4 years (every 210,000 blocks) that cuts the block…
Blockchain
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Cold Storage
Cold storage refers to keeping cryptocurrency private keys completely offline, eliminating online attack vectors. Methods: hardware wallets (most…
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Cryptocurrency Tax
August 22, 2026 · Aditya Gupta
Investing
Related terms
Airdrop
An airdrop is a distribution of free cryptocurrency tokens to users meeting specific criteria — often early protocol…
Bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) is the first and largest cryptocurrency, created by pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009 as peer-to-peer electronic…
Bitcoin Halving
Bitcoin halving is the programmed event occurring roughly every 4 years (every 210,000 blocks) that cuts the block…
Blockchain
Blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that records transactions across a network of computers in a way that's…
Cold Storage
Cold storage refers to keeping cryptocurrency private keys completely offline, eliminating online attack vectors. Methods: hardware wallets (most…
Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency is digital money secured by cryptography and recorded on a blockchain. Categories: payment cryptos (Bitcoin, Litecoin), platform…
