Global regulators begin to focus on more clearly defining the "crypto."

Rules and regulations are shifting towards establishing uniform global tax compliance for crypto users. Previously, there were very few crypto users and companies that were not regulated, as governments begin to ratify new laws to regulate this growing market.

The new Colombian regulations will require all businesses providing crypto services (including those that provide exchange services for cryptocurrencies) to document their customers and all transactions in a detailed manner to all regulatory authorities. All crypto exchanges must report to DIAN (the Colombian tax authority) all transactions made through their platform, along with all associated customer data. This reporting process is intended to close some of the existing loopholes associated with the ability of Colombian taxpayers to accurately report on the value of their cryptocurrency transactions. Under the Colombian tax law, taxpayers are required to include their crypto assets as taxable income, even if no taxes were paid on those assets. The new regulations will enable DIAN to perform additional checks on the information provided to them by Colombian taxpayers when submitting their tax filings.

Failure to comply or submitting inaccurate information can result in penalties of up to 1% of the value of unreported transactions.

Colombia is solidifying its spot as one of the most vibrant Cryptocurrency marketplaces in Latin America. Chainalysis reported that from July 2024 to June 2025, the nation handled a staggering $44.2 billion USD in Cryptocurrency transactions. This sum placed Colombia 5th amongst all the country's transactions during this time period. Brazil is ranked first for having the second-largest growth in Crypto value received after Colombia.

Likewise, France is now extending its legislative measures beyond exchanges to include a growing number of self-custodial wallets. The changes in the National Assembly legislative committee that occurred on December 2025 now require non-custodial wallet holders (including Ledger, MetaMask, Rabby, and Deblock) to file declarations for non-custodial wallets that exceed €5,000.00 (approx. $5,800.00).

This legislative proposal received bipartisan support in France and complies with CPO recommendations. It reflects the current apprehensions surrounding a surge in the amount of Cryptocurrency being held outside of traditional financial institutions thereby bypassing the current reporting methods.

Legislators are reacting quickly to a particularly rocky period in French regulation of Cryptocurrencies, including an incident in May 2025 when a database containing personal data and tax information on over 2 million taxpayers (including Cryptocurrency holders) was exposed for purchase on an anonymous dark web forum, along with a series of robberies that occurred this year targeting Cryptocurrency investors.

The actions of the tax official accused of sharing confidential taxpayer information with organized crime include the presence of evidence that the tax official was in possession of additional crypto currency information. Similarly, the incidents mentioned above demonstrate the existence of a large-scale number of users who are vulnerable and may need to comply with future normative actions.

The actions taken by authorities in Colombia/Colombian government and France demonstrate a world-wide movement by countries to make information a part of their jurisdictions and will shift away from an era of voluntary disclosure. To manage the growing use of digital currencies for tax purposes and compliance, the growing majority of exchange participants and wallet holders will be incorporated into a comprehensive digital audit trail. The use of this approach demonstrates the imposition of more strict regulations similar to the most comprehensive regulations imposed on digital asset and exchange participants recently in the UAE.As previously reported by BeInCrypto, the new framework criminalizes the use of unlicensed crypto tools, including certain self-custody wallets.

Taken together, these measures suggest the era of crypto’s semi-anonymity may be nearing its end. Authorities are intensifying efforts to track wallet ownership and transaction flows, leaving fewer places for assets to remain unseen.

In Colombia and France, crypto is firmly on tax authorities’ radar, and non-compliance now carries real financial and legal consequences. With these countries setting the pace, investors and platforms worldwide may need to prepare for a more transparent and far more closely monitored crypto landscape.