The European Union (EU) is ready to implement DAC8 for tax transparency of cryptocurrencies. What is DAC8, you ask? The Administrative Cooperation Directive is a comprehensive directive that will fundamentally change the way crypto transactions are monitored and taxed.
DAC8 was adopted by the EU Council in October 2023. Now, from January 1, 2026, crypto exchanges will be required to collect and report detailed user and transaction data to national tax authorities. However, companies have six months, until July 1, 2026, to fully comply. But will DAC8 succeed in closing critical gaps in crypto tax reporting? Or is this another crackdown on crypto?
Prepare for 2026 and increased monitoring of your financial data:
DAC8 in EU
SEC oversight in the United States
Your 8-Step Plan to Stay Alive in the New…
-CR1337 (@CR1337) December 9, 2025
SEC oversight in the United States 
mandatory KYC on every centralized on-ramp and blockchain analytics companies tracing every transaction.To prevent tax evasion, DAC8 aims to provide tax authorities with visibility into crypto holdings and transfers similar to what they currently have for traditional bank accounts and securities.
DISCOVER: 16+ New and Upcoming Binance Listings in 2025
Binance, Coinbase and Kraken must comply with EU DAC8
All EU crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) will have to ensure their reporting systems, customer due diligence procedures and internal controls by July 1, 2026.
It is important to note that DAC8 applies not only to companies headquartered in the EU, but also to any global platform serving EU residents. This essentially means that Binance, Coinbase and Kraken must comply with DAC8. For individual users, DAC8 concerns all EU tax residents.
And what information must be declared? The directive covers all “reportable crypto assets”, including those used for payments or investments in BTC, ETH or other cryptocurrencies. However, CBDCs and certain e-money tokens have been excluded from the scope of DAC8.
The most powerful enforcement mechanism of DAC8 is the automatic exchange of information between EU member states.
As 75 jurisdictions around the world adhere to the OECD crypto-asset reporting framework, similar reporting requirements are likely to emerge in other regions of the world.
EXPLORE: Best Meme Coin ICOs to invest in 2025
Investors criticize European tax reporting rules on cryptocurrencies
An X user called Matty said: “Abusive DAC8 regulations will arrive in 5 days. If you are an EU citizen and use a Web3 bank based in an EU jurisdiction, switch to privacy and to Web3 banks outside the EU and crypto services.
Another investor took to X to say: “DAC8 is another dystopian regulation and espionage mechanism aimed at affecting EU residents. »
X user BrianEMcGrath said: “The ‘regulatory clarity’ everyone wanted is visibility, for them. It took 15 years, but the state finally got its act together as of January 1, 2026.”
EU DAC8 = integration of crypto into existing financial surveillance stack.
Same reporting infrastructure as bank accounts. Same cross-border data sharing. Same asset freezing capabilities.
It took 15 years, but the State finally got its bearings from January 1, 2026.
THE… pic.twitter.com/AHAdASWXpX
–BrianEMcGrath (@BrianEMcGrath) December 26, 2025
A Swiss company, Mt Pelerin, spoke to CARF will not come into force in Switzerland before 2027.”
DISCOVER: Next 1000X Crypto: 10+ crypto tokens that could reach 1000x in 2025
Key takeaways
-
DAC8 operates alongside but independently of the European Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation, creating a two-pronged regulatory framework.
-
This cross-border sharing of data enables a coordinated approach to tax enforcement, preventing users from avoiding their tax obligations by moving assets or carrying out transactions across different EU countries.
Stricter EU tax reporting rules on cryptocurrencies take effect in January 2026: is DAC8 a crackdown on crypto? appeared first on 99Bitcoins.
