The UK tax authority (HMRC) has for the first time released detailed statistics on cryptocurrency income, revealing 240 taxpayers who declared profits from digital assets exceeding £1 million ($1.35 million) for the 2024–2025 tax period.
This is a landmark event for the industry: for the first time, the regulator is publishing such a deep slice of data on the crypto community. The combined profits of these 240 investors amounted to £717 million ($974 million)—more than half of all declared crypto profits in the country for the year.
Who earns from digital assets and how
In total, during the reporting period, 17,600 Britons recorded taxable profits from the sale of crypto assets. Their total transaction volume reached £13.8 billion ($18.8 billion), with taxable profits of £1.38 billion ($1.88 billion), averaging about £78,000 per person.
The gender dynamics are also telling: men filed approximately 87% of declarations, while women accounted for only about 13%. This confirms the persistent imbalance in the crypto industry that I have observed for several years.
Treasury Financial Secretary James Murray emphasized that taxes on crypto profits are paid on the same basis as any other capital.
The real scale of the market: Chainalysis estimate
Analytics firm Chainalysis estimated the volume of taxable cryptocurrency transactions in the UK for 2025 at $19.4 billion. This is the fourth-highest figure globally, after the US, Germany, and China. This amount included $6 billion in profits, $3.3 billion in income, and $10.1 billion in payments.
However, in my assessment, these figures are only the tip of the iceberg. The analysts used a conservative methodology that covered only six blockchains, excluding transactions on centralized exchanges and a number of other networks. The real market volume could be significantly higher.
New rules of the game: CARF and global oversight
From January 2026, the CARF (Cryptoasset Reporting Framework) reporting standard will come into effect, requiring crypto services to share client data with tax authorities. HMRC will begin receiving this information from 2027, which will significantly simplify the detection of undeclared income. Violators face a fine of £300 per client.
However, the system is not all-powerful: CARF accounts for only 14% of all taxable on-chain transactions worldwide. The remaining 86% consist of operations on decentralized exchanges, direct transfers between users, on-chain income, and payments that remain outside the regulators' purview.
My comment: The publication of this data is a clear signal to all market participants: the era of anonymity in cryptocurrencies is coming to an end. British authorities are demonstrating that they are ready not only to collect statistics but also to actively pursue non-payers. Investors should get their tax reporting in order in advance, especially given the upcoming implementation of CARF and the strengthening of international data exchange.