Staking, airdrops, DeFi and NFTs: how earned crypto is taxed
The income side. How crypto you earn, staking rewards, airdrops, DeFi yield, NFT sales, crypto salary, is taxed, and why the same coins can be taxed once as income and again as a gain.
General information, not tax advice. Crypto tax rules vary by country and change over time, check your local rules or a qualified adviser before filing.
The short version
Earned crypto is usually income at its value on the day you receive it, and that value becomes the cost basis for the eventual disposal. So a staking reward or airdrop is taxed twice over its life, once as income now, once as a capital gain when you sell, which is correct, not double taxation, because the receipt value sets the later basis.
DeFi and NFTs stack these events quickly, a single strategy can fire income and disposal events across many transactions. See the income, DeFi and NFT guides for the detail.
New to the vocabulary? The crypto tax glossary defines every term in plain English, and the other FAQ categories cover the rest.
Questions
FAQ
In most countries staking rewards are taxable as income at their market value on the day you receive (or gain control of) them. That value also becomes the cost basis of the rewarded coins, so a later sale is measured against it. The exact treatment, income vs capital, and the timing, varies by jurisdiction.
Commonly, an airdrop is taxed as income at the value of the tokens when you receive them, with that value becoming their cost basis. Some jurisdictions treat unsolicited or valueless airdrops differently. Spam and scam 'airdrops' should not inflate your income, CryptaTax flags likely spam so it doesn't distort your report.
Often, yes, but the treatment is nuanced. Swaps are disposals; rewards and yield are usually income; and entering or exiting a liquidity pool can itself be a disposal in some jurisdictions. Because DeFi generates many small on-chain events, automated tracking across your wallets is what keeps a DeFi report accurate.
Yes. Crypto received as salary, freelance payment, or in exchange for goods and services is generally taxable as income at its market value on the day you receive it. That value becomes the cost basis of the coins, so if you later sell them, any further gain or loss is measured from there.
In most countries an NFT is treated as property, like other crypto. Buying an NFT with crypto is a disposal of that crypto; selling an NFT realises a gain or loss against what you paid; and creator royalties or primary sales can be income. Some jurisdictions apply special rules to collectibles, so the treatment can differ from ordinary tokens.