The White House is reviewing a proposal that would give the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) broader authority to obtain data on U.S. taxpayers’ crypto activity conducted through foreign exchanges and platforms.
The proposal was submitted to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) on Friday. OIRA part of the Office of Management and Budget assesses whether new federal rules align with the president’s policy priorities and regulatory goals.
Push for Stronger Tax Oversight and Global Alignment
The move follows a detailed digital asset report released earlier this year, outlining gaps in U.S. crypto oversight, particularly around tax compliance and offshore reporting.
A key recommendation from the report:
The U.S. should consider aligning with the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) a global standard adopted by several jurisdictions to increase tax transparency.
Under CARF:
- Digital asset service providers must report transaction data
- Regulators gain visibility into offshore activity
- Governments can more easily identify tax evasion and undeclared crypto holdings
The White House argued that adopting such a framework could:
- Reduce incentives for U.S. taxpayers to move crypto to offshore platforms
- Support stronger domestic digital asset markets
- Keep the U.S. competitive with global regulatory trends
DeFi Likely to Remain Outside the Rule’s Scope
Despite supporting wider oversight, the administration emphasized an important limitation.
The proposal should not impose new reporting burdens on decentralized finance (DeFi) transactions.
This signals the White House is seeking stricter oversight of centralized intermediaries not blockchain-native, smart contract-based systems that operate without a central entity.
This carve-out would spare DeFi users from additional federal reporting requirements that many in the industry fear could stifle innovation.
What Comes Next?
If approved, the proposal could:
- Expand IRS access to foreign crypto data
- Increase alignment with global reporting standards
- Strengthen tax enforcement around offshore digital asset activity
However, the specifics of implementation including which foreign platforms must comply and how data-sharing information will be structured remain to be finalized.
For now, the move signals the administration’s continued push toward greater transparency, tighter tax oversight, and international cooperation in crypto regulation.
