PANews reported on April 15th that, according to FinanceFeeds, the IRS officially entered a new phase of enforcement on April 15th, with mandatory cost basis reporting requirements for digital asset brokers now fully effective for the 2026 tax year. Centralized exchanges, custodial wallet providers, and certain digital asset processors are required to issue Form 1099-DA to the IRS and taxpayers, documenting every sale and transaction of digital assets. The IRS stated that this move aims to close a long-standing "compliance gap" and align crypto reporting standards with those for traditional stocks and bonds.

The new rules require brokers to track the “cost basis” of each asset from acquisition to disposal, and taxpayers must be able to verify the specific purchase price and date of each token sold. The Treasury Department has introduced a simplified electronic consent process, allowing brokers to terminate their partnerships with clients who refuse to participate in the new reporting framework. While the Trump administration has ordered the repeal of the “DeFi broker” designation that considered front-end service providers like Uniswap as reporting entities, the IRS has stated it will track on-chain activity through advanced forensic audits, and investors using self-custodial wallets to “evade” reporting requirements face a higher audit risk.