Share this article
IRS Initiates ‘Operation Hidden Treasure’ to Root Out Unreported Crypto Income
“These transactions are not anonymous,” the IRS' national fraud counsel said. “We see you.”
By Daniel Kuhn
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 12:22 p.m. Published Mar 7, 2021, 8:22 p.m.
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) appears to be stepping up its enforcement capabilities with a new program dedicated to cryptocurrency tax compliance.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
With “Operation Hidden Treasure,” the IRS will search for unreported crypto-related income, according to Director of the Office of Fraud Enforcement Damon Rowe.
- Speaking at a Federal Bar Association virtual tax conference, Rowe said cryptocurrency fraud will be a priority. Forbes first reported the news.
- Operation Hidden Treasure, a joint effort between the IRS’ civil office of fraud enforcement and its criminal investigation unit, will train agents to look at blockchains to root out tax evasion among cryptocurrency users. It will exist as part of the office’s emerging threats mitigation team, Forbes said.
- IRS employees are also reportedly training alongside the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) as part of the initiative.
Carolyn Schenck, national fraud counsel in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, told conference-goers the agency is working with private contractors and vendors, presumably blockchain analytics firms, to develop “signatures,” or telltale signs of fraudulent activity.
- These indicators include looking at those who structure transactions just below reporting requirements (like sending a series of $10,000 transactions), using shell corporations to hide funds as well as “getting on and off the chain,” Schenck reportedly said.
- The IRS has sent conflicting messages to U.S. crypto holders several times in the past. Most recently, an updated FAQ page indicated that investors who simply bought “virtual currency with real currency” would not have to report that transaction on this year’s tax returns.
- Still, cashing out crypto or making every-day purchases is typically seen as a taxable event. Operation Hidden Treasure is designed to find, trace, and attribute such transactions to taxpayers, Schenck said.
“These transactions are not anonymous,” she said. “We see you.”
Meer voor jou
Wat u moet weten:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
Meer voor jou
Doha Bank Issues $150M Digital Bond Using Euroclear’s DLT Platform
The deal achieved T+0 settlement on a permissioned distributed ledger rather than a public blockchain, reflecting a growing regional shift toward regulated digital bond infrastructure.
Wat u moet weten:
- Doha Bank completed a $150 million digital bond using Euroclear’s distributed ledger infrastructure, highlighting a preference for regulated DLT systems over public blockchains for institutional tokenized debt.
- The bond was listed on the London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market, achieving same-day settlement through a permissioned DLT platform.
- The transaction is part of a regional effort to modernize capital markets infrastructure by integrating DLT into existing systems rather than creating new crypto-native systems.
Top Stories
