The Canada Revenue Agency requires Dapper Labs to hand over data on 2,500 users as NFT tax investigation escalates.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has obtained court authorization to compel NFT platform Dapper Labs to submit data on 2,500 users, demonstrating the country’s comprehensive move to strengthen enforcement of cryptocurrency and NFT tax compliance. This action stems from court documents filed in September 2025, aiming to investigate whether users have unreported crypto income.

According to the court order, Dapper Labs must provide authorities with specific users’ identification information and transaction records. Although the CRA initially requested data on approximately 18,000 accounts, the scope was reduced to 2,500 users after negotiations. Notably, Dapper Labs itself has not been accused of any wrongdoing, and its products include well-known NFT projects such as NBA Top Shot and CryptoKitties.

This action follows the precedent set by the CRA’s 2020 customer data investigation into Coinsquare. According to official disclosures, over the past three years the CRA has recovered more than 100 million Canadian dollars in unpaid taxes related to cryptocurrencies. However, due to the challenges of cross-border investigations and the complexity of obtaining on-chain evidence, the agency has not achieved a successful conviction for crypto tax evasion since 2020.

Internal estimates indicate that up to 40% of users on certain crypto platforms may have failed to fulfill their tax reporting obligations. To improve enforcement efficiency, the federal government plans to establish a new financial crime agency by spring 2026, aiming to enhance cross-jurisdictional data processing and investigative capabilities.

Meanwhile, Canada will implement the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) in 2026, requiring crypto asset service providers to report clients’ identities, asset balances, and transaction data to the CRA annually. This will align Canada with other strictly regulated countries and further strengthen tax transparency for digital assets.

In 2025, Canadian regulators have significantly increased penalties. FINTRAC issued a 176.96 million CAD fine to Cryptomus and imposed a 19.5 million CAD penalty on a certain centralized exchange, both related to anti-money laundering violations.

With the advancement of court orders, the CARF framework, and new agencies, Canada’s crypto tax regulatory system is entering a new phase of stricter and more systematic oversight.