240 Crypto Millionaires Booked Over Half of Britain's Taxable Crypto Gains, HMRC Data Shows
Key Takeaways
- •Some 240 individuals each declared more than £1 million in cryptoasset capital gains in 2024-25, together reporting £717 million and representing fewer than 2% of the 17,600 crypto taxpayers.
- •The UK published its first official crypto capital gains figures because the Self Assessment return now includes a dedicated section for cryptoasset disposals.
- •Crypto taxpayers skew young and male, with 54% aged 25 to 44 and men making up 87% of filers while booking 93% of gains.
- •HMRC will start receiving data under the OECD's Cryptoasset Reporting Framework in 2027, with non-compliant providers facing penalties of up to £300 per user.
- •Total capital gains across all assets reached a record £127 billion in 2024-25, generating £24.2 billion in tax.
Britain's cryptocurrency gains are concentrated in very few hands, according to the first official figures HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has published on the sector.
Some 240 people each declared more than £1 million in cryptoasset capital gains during the 2024-25 tax year, the tax authority said Thursday, reporting £717 million between them. That group represents fewer than 2% of the 17,600 individuals who declared crypto disposals, yet HMRC's statistical commentary credits it with over half of both the £1.38 billion in total gains and the £13.8 billion in disposal proceeds.
Taxes are due on cryptoasset gains just like any other gains. 📈 Through our targeted work on cryptoassets, including clear guidance and social media outreach, we helped taxpayers better understand their obligations which resulted in an additional £168 million of Capital Gains… pic.twitter.com/TOdHfM87Xp — HM Revenue & Customs (@HMRCgovuk) August 27, 2026
At the other end of the scale, 65% of crypto taxpayers reported gains under £25,000. Between them they accounted for just 7% of gains and 8% of proceeds.
The figures appear for the first time because the Self Assessment return now carries a dedicated section for cryptoasset disposals, which were previously lumped in with other property and assets. The new visibility matters beyond Britain: tax authorities worldwide have struggled to track crypto holdings because transactions occur across borders on decentralized networks, and the UK's move to separate reporting mirrors a broader international push to bring crypto into line with traditional asset taxation.
A younger, more male cohort
Crypto taxpayers look nothing like the rest of the capital gains population. Some 54% are aged between 25 and 44, compared with 17% of capital gains taxpayers generally, and 81% are 54 or under.
That cohort also trades the hardest and earns the least from it: people aged 25 to 44 accounted for 71% of all crypto disposal proceeds but only 45% of the gains.
Men made up 87% of those reporting crypto gains, against 56% across capital gains as a whole, and booked 93% of the gains.
For all the attention the sector attracts, crypto remains marginal to the wider picture. Total capital gains hit a record £127 billion in 2024-25, generating £24.2 billion in tax. HMRC cannot say how much of that came from crypto, because cryptoasset liabilities are not separated from other assets taxed at the main rates.
HMRC's upcoming changes
Under the OECD's Cryptoasset Reporting Framework, which the UK began implementing in January, service providers must hand customer information to tax authorities. HMRC starts receiving that data in 2027, and providers that fail to comply face penalties of up to £300 per user.
"Taxes are due on cryptoasset gains just like any other gains," said James Murray, Financial Secretary to the Treasury.
Other rules are moving in the opposite direction: the Treasury plans to defer capital gains tax on DeFi lending and liquidity pool deposits until assets are genuinely disposed of. Gains above the allowance for 2025-26 must be reported by 31 January 2027.
Once CARF data starts flowing in 2027, HMRC will for the first time be able to cross-check what providers report against what taxpayers declare — meaning the self-reported figures published today offer a baseline against which future compliance can be measured.
