The rules announced require brokers – not digital asset holders – to report on the gross proceeds of the sale of their digital assets through a Form 1099. The rules ensure DeFi brokers of digital assets are subject to the same information reporting rules as brokers for securities and operators of custodial digital asset trading platforms.

The final regulations will require brokers to report gross proceeds on the sale of digital assets beginning in 2026 for all sales in 2025. Brokers will be required to also report information on the tax basis for certain digital assets beginning in 2027 for sales in 2026. 

See also the press release from the IRS.

The US Department of the Treasury, in its document 'General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2025 Revenue Proposals,'  said currently the law does not provide tax rules specifically addressing digital assets, with the exception of certain rules relating to broker reporting and reporting of cash transactions.

It explained that the "computational effort" involved in digital asset mining can be "substantial" and can therefore require a "correspondingly large amount of energy".

The Department said: "The increase in energy consumption attributable to the growth of digital asset mining has negative environmental effects and can have environmental justice implications as well as increase energy prices for those that share an electricity grid with digital asset miners. Digital asset mining also creates uncertainty and risks to local utilities and communities, as mining activity is highly variable and highly mobile. "

Under the proposal, "any firm using computing resources, whether owned by the firm or leased from others, to mine digital assets would be subject to an excise tax equal to 30 percent of the costs of electricity used in digital asset mining."