CRA Targets 2,500 Dapper Labs Users in NFT Tax Investigation

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is intensifying its efforts to enforce cryptocurrency tax compliance by securing a court order for Dapper Labs to release information about 2,500 users. This marks a significant development in Canada's ongoing campaign against unreported cryptocurrency earnings.

Key Takeaways

The CRA has acquired a court order for Dapper Labs to provide information on 2,500 users amid an investigation into undeclared crypto income.
The agency initially targeted around 18,000 accounts but narrowed its request through negotiations.
Dapper Labs, the creator of popular NFTs like NBA Top Shot, is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Historically, the CRA has retrieved over C$100 million in unpaid crypto taxes, although no criminal convictions for crypto tax evasion have occurred since 2020.
Canada will align its regulatory framework with the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework starting in 2026, enhancing reporting requirements for crypto service providers.

Canada crypto tax crackdown illustration with CRA targeting Dapper Labs NFT users and expanded reporting rules.

The CRA has successfully obtained a court order that mandates Dapper Labs to disclose detailed information about 2,500 users, focusing on an expanded investigation that targets undeclared income from cryptocurrency transactions. This move highlights the CRA's commitment to tightening regulations and increasing compliance among crypto users.

Canada Revenue Agency Probes Dapper Labs Users

The Vancouver-based NFT platform, Dapper Labs, is now compelled by a Federal Court order to provide data about a select group of users, marking the second significant investigation by the CRA into potential tax evasion in the cryptocurrency space. Initially, the CRA sought information from about 18,000 accounts but reduced the number to 2,500 after negotiations.

Dapper Labs, known for its popular NFT products such as NBA Top Shot and CryptoKitties, has not been implicated in any wrongdoing. This court order follows a precedent set in 2020 when the CRA acquired customer information from Coinsquare, a Toronto-based exchange.

Over the last three years, the CRA has collected more than C$100 million in unpaid taxes associated with cryptocurrency activities. Nevertheless, it has not achieved any criminal convictions for crypto tax evasion since 2020, despite ongoing investigations and efforts.

Internal estimates from the CRA suggest that approximately 40% of users on certain crypto platforms might not be complying with their tax obligations. Investigators face challenges in gathering evidence across decentralized platforms and multiple jurisdictions, complicating prosecution efforts.

The federal government is set to create a new agency focused on financial crimes by spring 2026, aimed at enhancing investigative capabilities and improving data collection related to digital asset cases.

In alignment with international standards, Canada is adopting the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, effective in 2026. This new regulation will require crypto-asset service providers to report essential customer information, including identities, account balances, and transaction data, on an annual basis to the CRA. This move aligns Canada with other countries enhancing disclosure obligations for digital asset firms.

In 2025, Canadian regulators escalated their enforcement efforts. For example, FINTRAC, the country’s financial intelligence unit, imposed a hefty penalty of C$176.96 million on Cryptomus for anti-money-laundering violations and fined KuCoin C$19.5 million for similar infractions, as reported by FINTRAC.

The combination of mandated data requests, impending reporting responsibilities under CARF, and the establishment of a forthcoming financial crimes agency signals a substantial strengthening of Canada’s approach to cryptocurrency taxation and user compliance.