What happened
CryptoBriefing published a lengthy argument on Tuesday making the case that consumer crypto tax software has hit its ceiling for the wallets that dominate on-chain activity today. The piece targets a specific reader: the trader whose 2025 activity spans liquidity provision, restaking, wrapped-asset swaps, cross-chain bridges, and NFT mints with royalty splits. That reader, per the publisher's framing, is walking into the 2026 filing season with a data problem tools like Koinly, CoinTracker, and TokenTax were not designed to fix at the edges.
The recommendation is direct. Bring in a CPA or enrolled agent who specialises in digital assets before the return is prepared, not after the notice arrives.
Why it matters
The argument lands in a specific enforcement window. IRS Form 1099-DA broker reporting took effect for the 2025 tax year, which means centralized exchanges started sending taxpayer-level cost-basis data to the agency in January. That data now has to match what the taxpayer reports, and any mismatch generates a CP2000 notice by default.
For a wallet that moved WBTC into a Curve pool, farmed CRV, then bridged the position to Arbitrum before selling, the software-generated basis often disagrees with what the exchange reports on 1099-DA. The reconciliation is manual. It is also expensive if done wrong.
Cryptomat's read is that the CryptoBriefing thesis holds for the top decile of on-chain wallets. Below that, a properly configured tracker plus a one-hour review with an advisor still gets the job done for most filers. The publisher's blanket recommendation oversells for the median portfolio.
It undersells the risk for anyone whose 2025 return will span more than three chains and ten protocols. Those wallets are where the audit letters land in 2027.