Congress Nixes the DeFi-Broker Rule - What That Means for Form 1099-DA

DeFi-Broker Rule Changes

Congress officially killed the DeFi-broker rule (TD 10021) through the Congressional Review Act in April 2025, meaning decentralized platforms like Uniswap and SushiSwap won't have to collect your KYC data or send you Form 1099-DA reports - those front-ends are completely off the hook and the IRS can't issue a similar rule without new legislation from Congress.

But here's the twist: Form 1099-DA isn't actually dead - it's still very much alive for custodial exchanges like Coinbase, which must start issuing the form for your 2025 trades (arriving in early 2026) under a separate regulation (TD 10000) that wasn't part of the repeal.

The practical reality is a split system where you'll get automatic tax forms from centralized exchanges but remain 100% responsible for self-reporting all your DeFi gains, losses, and basis calculations, while the IRS pivots to aggressive enforcement through audits, John Doe summonses, and blockchain analytics to catch unreported DeFi activity.

Bottom line: the "no 1099-DA" headlines are misleading - it's gone for DeFi, alive for centralized platforms, and your tax obligations haven't changed one bit.

Full Overview of the DeFi-Broker Rule changes

The U.S. Treasury and IRS have formally struck TD 10021 from the tax code after it was overturned under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). Congress passed H.J. Res. 25 in March; the President signed it on April 10, 2025, as Public Law 119-5. The Federal Register notice slated for publication on July 11 finalizes the repeal and restores the section 6045 regulations to the pre-TD 10021 text.

Why TD 10021 mattered

TD 10021 would have treated many decentralized-finance (DeFi) front-ends, payment processors and kiosk operators as “digital-asset middlemen.” Starting with 2027 transactions, those entities would have had to collect customer KYC data and issue the brand-new Form 1099-DA reporting gross proceeds on digital-asset sales. Industry groups argued the rule was unworkable and exceeded the IRS’s mandate; lawmakers ultimately agreed, triggering CRA disapproval.

What “going away” really means for 1099-DA

• DeFi platforms - The CRA repeal wipes out the legal authority that would have forced non-custodial brokers to file Form 1099-DA. For these actors, the form is effectively dead on arrival.

• Custodial exchanges - TD 10000 (issued July 9 2024) was not part of the CRA action, so Coinbase-style custodial brokers are still scheduled to begin sending 1099-DAs for 2025 trades (first statements issued in early 2026).

• Future rule-making - The CRA bars Treasury from issuing a “substantially similar” DeFi-broker rule without new legislation. Congress would have to revisit the issue if policymakers want third-party reporting in the DeFi arena again.

Practical take-aways

What to watch next

1. Stablecoin and broader crypto bills moving through Congress could reopen the reporting debate.

2. State-level initiatives - several states are considering their own digital-asset information-return rules that could fill the gap.

3. IRS enforcement tools - expect more summonses and data-analytics audits targeting large, on-chain DeFi transactions as a workaround for the missing third-party reports.

Bottom line: The headline “1099-DA is gone” is only half-true. Congress killed the DeFi-broker mandate, sparing smart-contract front-ends from onerous reporting, but Form 1099-DA lives on for custodial exchanges. Traders should still expect to receive it for centralized-platform activity and remain diligent about tracking DeFi gains manually.

Also read:

• Crypto perpetual futures

• Coinbase 1099-DA form guide

• Kraken 1099-DA guide

• Crypto.com 1099-DA Tax Form

• Venmo 1099-DA Tax Form

• Robinhood 1099-DA Tax Form