Global Taxable Crypto Activity Surpasses $457B as NZ and S. Korea Reform Their Tax Rules

Chainalysis estimates that taxable blockchain digital currency activity reached $457 billion globally in 2025. This number is broken down by region, with North America accounting for $134.6 billion, followed by the European Union at $125.1 billion and East Asia at $54.7 billion.

The U.S. had the largest share of taxable digital currency activity, with $112.6 billion, followed by Germany and China at $24.1 billion and $21 billion, respectively. These numbers are based on realized gains attributed to centralized and decentralized exchanges, income from mining, staking, lending, and gambling, as well as crypto-denominated payments.

New Zealand's ACT party has proposed tax-free digital currency gains for individuals who hold their assets for over a year. This change would simplify the process of reporting profits from digital currencies, but professional traders or businesses trading digital currencies would still need to pay tax under current regulations.

South Korea is also updating its tax rules on digital currencies. The government plans to classify income from transferring or lending digital currency as other income for tax purposes. Investors who earn KRW 10 million ($7,256) in net gains from digital currencies could face a tax bill of KRW 1.65 million ($1,201) under the proposed tax system.