Resources for founders and their finance teams

Implementation turns strategy into action by helping clients implement formal crypto compliance systems. Lawyers play a key role in drafting board resolutions, digital asset policies, and documentation frameworks that meet 2025 IRS and OECD standards. This phase ensures corporate governance, wallet-by-wallet tracking, and Form 1099-DA reconciliation are all built into daily operations. The goal is to create lasting compliance infrastructure that scales with the client’s business.

Form 1099-DA is issued by custodial digital asset brokers: centralized exchanges, hosted wallet providers, digital asset kiosks and payment processors that take possession of a customer's crypto. The first forms, covering 2025 sales, were furnished to customers by February 17, 2026 and show gross proceeds only. Cost basis reporting becomes mandatory for covered digital assets acquired and sold from January 1, 2026, so the forms that arrive in early 2027 will show basis and gain for the first time.

The form is not the ceiling of what the IRS sees. Chainalysis estimates that about 86% of potentially taxable on-chain activity in 2025 sat outside the reach of broker-style reporting, and tax authorities increasingly trace wallets directly. This guide covers who counts as a broker, what each year's form contains, the 2026 deadlines, and how businesses and their customers should reconcile before filing.

Starting January 1, 2025, the IRS requires crypto businesses to track cost basis and gains wallet-by-wallet under IRC §1012(c). This major change replaces the universal pool method, meaning every wallet or exchange account must now maintain independent accounting. This guide explains what changed, how to stay compliant, and what tools and governance systems founders should adopt before tax season.

The introduction of the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) in 2025 marks the start of global information sharing for crypto transactions. For founders operating across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, understanding how CARF interacts with FATCA, FBAR, and MiCA regulations is now essential. This guide explains how to manage entity structures, transfer pricing, and reporting obligations to stay compliant in multiple jurisdictions.

Beginning in the 2025 tax year, corporations must disclose all digital asset activity directly on Form 1120. This marks a new era of transparency for companies holding Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets. Under enhanced IRS rules and cross-referencing with Form 1099-DA, corporate taxpayers now face stricter documentation, entity-level wallet segregation, and elevated audit risk. This article explains how to comply and prepare your business for this reporting shift under IRC §11.

The first phase of crypto legal compliance begins with structured client onboarding and assessment. Under new 2025 IRS and OECD rules (including IRC §1012(c) wallet-by-wallet accounting, Form 1099-DA broker reporting, and CARF global coordination), lawyers must evaluate every client’s entity structure, digital-asset inventory, and immediate compliance risks. This article provides a framework and templates to help legal advisors build audit-ready intake systems that align with the latest regulations.

How you classify your crypto activities, as a business or an investment, determines how your income is taxed and how much risk you face during audits. With expanded IRS enforcement through Form 1099-DA and advanced blockchain analytics, consistent documentation and intent matter more than ever. This guide helps founders and traders navigate key tax distinctions under case law precedents like Groetzinger v. Commissioner and recent crypto-related rulings.