Chainalysis said Italian authorities traced a tax evasion case involving Bitcoin Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens, showing how new crypto assets are becoming part of tax probes.
Summary
- Italian investigators traced over €1 million in alleged undeclared gains tied to Bitcoin Ordinals activity.
- Chainalysis said BRC-20 tokens helped hide income, but public blockchain records exposed transaction flows.
- Crypto tax enforcement is widening as lawmakers debate small payments, staking, and reporting rules.
Italy’s Guardia di Finanza uncovered a case in which a suspect allegedly used Bitcoin Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens to build and conceal more than €1 million, or about $1.1 million, in undeclared capital gains. Chainalysis said investigators in Foggia and Rome used blockchain analysis to map the activity from a seized hardware wallet.
The case began as a probe into unreported income. According to Chainalysis, investigators later found that the suspect had used Ordinals and BRC-20 token activity while also receiving public subsidies. Chainalysis said “the technical novelty of crypto does not equal anonymity.”
BRC-20 tokens formed the alleged income route
Bitcoin Ordinals allow data such as text or images to be attached to individual satoshis. BRC-20 tokens use text inscriptions to create, mint, and transfer tokens on Bitcoin without smart contracts. Chainalysis said the suspect used this structure to create assets, list them, sell them, and move profits back into a main Bitcoin wallet.
The company said those assets were sold for several times their original cost, with gains routed back in Bitcoin. It also said the suspect kept reinvesting proceeds into new inscriptions, creating a repeated cycle of minting, listing, selling, and moving funds.
Tax reporting gaps remain a key concern
The case adds to wider concern around crypto tax reporting. A 2026 Review of Accounting Studies paper found that IRS data captured only between 32% and 56% of estimated U.S. crypto owners, based on comparisons with surveys and other public data.
A separate NBER working paper on Norway found that crypto tax noncompliance was broad even among investors using exchanges that share identity-linked data with authorities. The paper said enforcement needs to be targeted or low-cost because many crypto investors owe small amounts.
The IRS also projects a large wider tax gap. For tax year 2022, it projected a gross tax gap of $696 billion and a net tax gap of $606 billion after late payments and enforcement. Underreporting made up $539 billion of the gross gap.
Crypto tax rules face pressure in Washington
The Italian case comes as U.S. lawmakers debate how to handle crypto taxes. Related coverage said the PARITY Act would direct Treasury to study small crypto payment tax relief and issue guidance, rather than creating an immediate exemption.
The reporting burden has also become a policy issue. Kraken filed 56 million crypto tax forms for 2025, with most tied to transactions under $50, as reported by crypto.news. The exchange wants Congress to raise the reporting threshold and simplify rules for low-value transactions.
Staking is also under review. Separate related coverage said 18 bipartisan House lawmakers asked the IRS to review its 2023 staking reward guidance before 2026. The report said the PARITY Act suggests allowing taxpayers to defer some staking and mining tax liabilities.
Chainalysis said crypto users may try new asset types to hide gains, but public blockchains leave permanent records. In the Italian case, exchange records and on-chain patterns helped investigators connect wallet activity to a real person.
