Kraken IRS Data Exposes Alarming Reality: Over Half of Crypto Trades Are Under $10

Kraken’s submission of 56 million transaction reports to the IRS (Feb 2025) reveals that crypto activity is dominated by micro-transactions: one-third were under $1, more than 50% were $10 or less, 74% were under $50, and only 8.5% exceeded $600. The data underscores a mismatch between current U.S. tax rules and crypto’s real-world use, increasing compliance costs for everyday users and boosting demand for tax software. It strengthens industry calls for a broad de minimis exemption and an elective approach to taxing staking rewards. Policy changes could materially reduce frictions to crypto as a medium of exchange and affect user behavior, exchange reporting burdens, and related software/service markets.