IRS Crypto Chief Departs Amid Looming Tax Overhaul for Digital Assets

Trish Turner, head of the IRS's digital assets unit, is exiting her role as the agency prepares for a seismic shift in cryptocurrency taxation. Her departure leaves a leadership vacuum just as new reporting requirements like Form 1099-DA are set to flood the understaffed agency with millions of crypto transaction disclosures.

The IRS has already lost two other key crypto officials this year amid broader budget cuts that have reduced staffing levels by nearly 33% over three decades. This exodus coincides with what experts predict will be a tenfold increase in crypto tax filings, as the 3 million currently reported transactions likely represent just a fraction of actual activity.

Market participants are bracing for impact as these regulatory changes converge with shrinking IRS resources. The coming year will test whether an already strained tax collection system can handle the compliance demands of a maturing digital asset ecosystem.