Canada's CRA Targets 2,500 Dapper Labs Users in NFT Tax Probe

Source: Cryptonews Original Title: CRA targets 2,500 Dapper Labs users in NFT tax probe Original Link: https://crypto.news/cra-targets-2500-dapper-labs-users-in-nft-tax-probe/ Canada’s CRA has obtained a Federal Court order requiring Dapper Labs to provide detailed information on 2,500 platform users as part of an expanded investigation into undeclared cryptocurrency income.

Key Developments

The court order compels the Vancouver-based NFT platform to supply data on a specific group of customers, marking the country’s second major probe into crypto tax evasion. The CRA initially sought information on approximately 18,000 accounts but narrowed the request to 2,500 users following negotiations.

Dapper Labs, known for NFT products including NBA Top Shot and CryptoKitties, has not been accused of any wrongdoing. The court order follows a precedent established in 2020 when the CRA obtained customer data from Toronto-based exchange Coinsquare.

Tax Recovery and Enforcement

The agency has recovered more than C$100 million in unpaid taxes related to cryptocurrency activity over the past three years. However, the agency has not secured a criminal conviction for crypto tax evasion since 2020, despite ongoing investigations.

Internal CRA estimates indicate that as many as 40% of users on certain platforms may be non-compliant with tax reporting requirements. Investigators have cited difficulties gathering evidence across multiple jurisdictions and decentralized platforms as obstacles to prosecution.

Regulatory Expansion Plans

The federal government plans to establish a new financial crimes agency by spring 2026 to expand investigative capabilities and streamline data collection for digital-asset cases.

Canada will implement the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework beginning in 2026, requiring crypto-asset service providers to report customer identities, account balances, and transaction data annually to the CRA. This aligns Canada with other nations adopting enhanced disclosure requirements for digital-asset companies.

Increased Enforcement Actions

Canadian regulators have intensified enforcement actions in 2025. The country’s financial intelligence unit imposed a C$176.96 million penalty on Cryptomus for anti-money-laundering violations and fined another major exchange C$19.5 million for similar breaches.

The combination of court-ordered data requests, forthcoming reporting requirements, and the planned financial crimes agency represents a significant expansion of Canada’s approach to cryptocurrency taxation and compliance.