From Jan. 1, 2026, crypto users in 48 jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and the European Union, will start to feel the first real effects of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) as early‑moving jurisdictions begin collecting standardized data from exchanges and platforms.
CARF requires in-scope providers to gather more detailed customer information, verify tax residency and report users’ balances and transactions annually to their domestic tax authorities, which will then share that data across borders under existing information‑exchange agreements.
Lucy Frew, partner and head of the global Regulatory & Risk Advisory Group at international law firm Walkers, told Cointelegraph that CARF is a “game-changer,” and “set to reshape compliance for digital asset businesses and customers.”
In practice, she said it means tougher onboarding questions, more frequent account reviews and far less room for users to assume that activity on overseas or offshore platforms is out of sight for tax agencies.
She added that companies that act now will be best positioned to manage risk and maintain trust, while those that delay may “face regulatory and reputational consequences.”
Structural changes for crypto exchanges
For exchanges, this is not a cosmetic compliance update but a structural change. Firms will need to bolt CARF requirements onto existing Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering processes, redesign onboarding flows to capture tax‑residency and self‑certification data, and build or upgrade reporting systems.
Related: Tax agencies will double down on crypto before Bitcoin hits $1M
That will likely require new governance frameworks, staff training and closer coordination between compliance, engineering and support teams, particularly for platforms that operate across multiple CARF and non‑CARF jurisdictions.
UK‑licensed exchanges such as CoinJar sit at the center of this shift. Asher Tan, CEO and co-founder, told Cointelegraph that as CARF rules are phased in, users will be asked to provide additional tax residency information.
He said that the challenge is implementing new requirements in a way that “meets regulatory expectations while preserving the clarity, trust, and user-friendly experience people expect.”
He added that for regulated platforms, that balance can become a “competitive advantage” as crypto “moves further into the mainstream financial system and as those looking to trade digital assets look for compliant platforms.”
Related: Hong Kong launches CARF crypto tax consultation to combat evasion
Retail users face a rise in audits
Retail users, meanwhile, face a sharp rise in audit risk rather than new taxes. As UK‑based practitioner, The Bitcoin & Crypto Accountant, told Cointelegraph, CARF does not create new tax liabilities; instead, it makes existing rules enforceable.
He said that, from 2026, the UK’s tax authority, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, will receive standardized, machine-readable data directly from exchanges, including overseas platforms, which makes “mismatches between tax returns and exchange data far easier to identify.”
The most common issues he sees among users are not just deliberate avoidance but omissions, such as “offshore exchange activity, frequent small disposals assumed to be immaterial, and Decentralized Finance or non-fungible token transactions that were misreported or not reported at all,” and he urged UK users to take action now:
“While reporting begins in 2026, the data will inevitably be used to question historic positions where figures do not reconcile. Anyone with unresolved issues should be addressing them now, while voluntary disclosure is still available.”
Related: No HMRC letter? UK crypto investors may still owe taxes, expert warns
