Canada's tax authority is clamping down on crypto.
The CRA estimates that 40% of people using crypto platforms are either evading taxes or at a high risk of non-compliance, pointing to major gaps in reporting across the country.
The Cryptoasset Program at the CRA now has 35 auditors working on more than 230 active files, and has collected $100M in taxes over the last three years. But the agency concedes that current laws make it difficult to reliably identify crypto users or assess compliance - prompting more aggressive efforts to compel information from platforms like Dapper Labs.
The investigators initially wanted data on 18,000 top users but eventually obtained information on just 2,500 accounts after negotiations. The limitations have pushed the federal government to commit to new legislation by Spring 2026 targeting financial crimes, including crypto tax evasion.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Canada must move rapidly because "fraud and financial crime are evolving rapidly," flagging plans for a new Financial Crimes Agency and wider anti-fraud strategy.
Meanwhile, FINTRAC is continuing to ramp up enforcement, having recently issued a $19.5-million penalty to the operator of KuCoin for failing to properly register it in Canada.