Canada’s Crypto Tax Sweep Nets Millions, but No Criminal Charges Yet
Over the past few years, Canada has quietly been ramping up its efforts to track down unpaid taxes in the rapidly growing world of cryptocurrencies and digital assets. The Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA, has assembled a specialized team of “cryptoasset auditors” who have been meticulously combing through transactions and accounts. Their work has led to more than $100 million in recovered taxes over just the past three years, targeting over 200 audit files across the country. Yet despite this success, no criminal charges have been laid since 2020, raising questions about the challenges of enforcing tax law in the crypto space.
The CRA has identified a worrying trend: up to 40 percent of Canadians who use crypto platforms either haven’t filed their taxes at all or are at high risk of non-compliance. The surge in crypto usage during the COVID-19 pandemic has only intensified the problem, as digital currencies and non-fungible tokens—digital representations of assets—allow transactions to be conducted with a high degree of anonymity. According to the agency’s top crypto auditor, reliably identifying users and assessing compliance is extremely difficult in this environment.
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In one high-profile case, the CRA went to Federal Court seeking to unmask thousands of users from Dapper Labs Inc., a leading NFT company. Initially, the agency sought information on 18,000 users, but negotiations narrowed this to 2,500. This marked only the second time a Canadian court has granted such an “unnamed persons requirement” to help track potential tax evasion. While the company didn’t oppose the probe, the limited number of users identified highlights how complex enforcement can be.
CRA officials explain that criminal investigations in the crypto realm are inherently complex, often taking years to complete due to international cooperation requirements, evidence collection challenges, and the anonymous nature of transactions. Between 2020 and early 2025, five investigations with digital asset components were initiated, four of which remain ongoing, yet no charges have been brought forward. The agency emphasizes that while significant taxes have been recovered, the process of moving from audit to criminal prosecution is slow and resource-intensive.
Outside the CRA, Canada’s financial intelligence agency, FINTRAC, has also stepped up enforcement. This year alone, it issued record fines against crypto firms failing to comply with anti-money laundering regulations, including a nearly $177 million penalty to a Vancouver-based company and $19.5 million against a foreign exchange operating from Seychelles.
Experts note that while Canada has built a strong regulatory framework for digital assets, enforcement remains a challenge. Resources are limited, investigations are complex, and public awareness of crypto tax obligations is still catching up. Still, the $100 million haul demonstrates that compliance efforts are paying off, even if the path to criminal charges remains a long and complicated one.
In short, Canada is making strides in regulating its borderless crypto economy, recovering millions in unpaid taxes, but the road to holding offenders criminally accountable is a slower journey, reflecting both the complexity of the digital landscape and the challenges of traditional enforcement.
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