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How transparency shapes tax policy effectiveness: Evidence from cryptocurrency markets

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  • Cong, Lin William
  • Tang, Vicki Wei
  • Zhang, Tony Qingquan

Abstract

We investigate how transparency—crypto exchanges' verification of trader identities through Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and their transmission of trader and transaction data to tax authorities—shapes the effectiveness of tax policies in cryptocurrency markets. Using regulatory events and cross-exchange price variation, we provide initial global evidence that transparency amplifies the capitalization of statutory crypto-tax liabilities into prices. In the United States, Bitcoin prices on exchanges subject to new tax reporting obligations fall by an average of 0.34 % following announcements that raise expectations of information transmission, even without changes in statutory tax liabilities. Across jurisdictions, price declines are significantly larger where reporting systems are more transparent, and in cross-sectional analysis, exchanges that both enforce KYC and transmit information show the strongest price sensitivity to local tax liabilities, particularly where capital controls constrain arbitrage. These findings reveal a transparency–privacy trade-off unique to crypto markets and demonstrate how digital assets provide rare opportunities to test classic tax-capitalization theories under conditions of anonymity and regulatory heterogeneity, with implications for the design of effective tax policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Cong, Lin William & Tang, Vicki Wei & Zhang, Tony Qingquan, 2026. "How transparency shapes tax policy effectiveness: Evidence from cryptocurrency markets," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(1).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:55:y:2026:i:1:s0048733325001921
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2025.105363

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • F38 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Financial Policy: Financial Transactions Tax; Capital Controls
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets
    • K34 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Tax Law
    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting

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