In late August 2026, the UK tax authority (HMRC) for the first time released separate statistics on taxable income from cryptocurrency transactions. The figures are striking: for the 2024-2025 tax period, 17,600 UK residents declared total profits of £1.38 billion.
The total volume of digital asset transactions included in the reports amounted to £13.8 billion, with average profit per declarant reaching £78,000. This refers exclusively to transactions subject to capital gains tax: sale of assets, token exchanges, payment for goods and services, as well as certain types of transfers of coins to third parties. Gifts to spouses, civil partners, and charitable organizations remain excluded from this category, as before.
It is important to emphasize that income from mining, staking, lending, and receiving cryptocurrency as payment for work is accounted for under income taxation and is not included in these figures — these are fundamentally different fiscal accounting regimes.
Capital concentration: 240 individuals hold more than half of the profits
The distribution of profits proved to be extremely uneven. The 240 declarants, each of whom recorded capital gains exceeding £1 million, accounted for £717 million — more than half of the total amount. At the same time, this group made up less than 2% of the total number of taxpayers.
The reverse statistics are equally telling: 65% of declarants had profits not exceeding £25,000, and their combined share of the total amount was only 7%. This confirms that a significant portion of the crypto community consists of small investors, while the bulk of capital is controlled by a handful of individuals.
The demographics are also of interest. More than half of the declarants (54%) are aged between 25 and 44, which is three times the share of this age group among all capital gains taxpayers in the country (17%). The gender imbalance is even more pronounced: men account for 87% of the participants in the statistics and hold 93% of all crypto profits.
In the total volume of capital gains in the UK (£127 billion), crypto assets account for about 1.1%. HMRC does not disclose the exact amount of tax revenue from these incomes, as they are taxed under the general regime.
New reporting rules: crypto services under pressure
From January 1, 2026, the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework rules, developed by the OECD, came into force in the country. They require crypto services to collect data on users and their transactions. The first reports must be submitted to HMRC between January 1 and May 31, 2027, and will cover transactions for 2026. Failure to provide information or submitting incomplete data carries a fine of up to £300 per user.
These measures are a signal to the market: tax authorities intend to actively identify undeclared income rather than rely on voluntary disclosure. Notably, HMRC has already secured an additional £168 million in tax revenue through outreach efforts and targeted audits.
My analysis: The published data is merely the tip of the iceberg. Given that the market was far from peak levels in 2024-2025, and the share of small investors is so high, the real volume of crypto profits could be significantly larger. The introduction of mandatory reporting in 2027 will become a stress test for the entire sector: those accustomed to anonymity will face a harsh fiscal reality. I recommend that investors review their tax position in advance, especially in light of the Bank of England's plans to develop stablecoins — regulatory pressure will only intensify.