Capital Gains Tax Crypto: What You Owe When You Sell Bitcoin and Other Coins

When you sell capital gains tax crypto, the tax you pay when you profit from selling cryptocurrency like Bitcoin or Ethereum. Also known as crypto capital gains tax, it applies whenever you trade, sell, or swap your coins for profit—whether it’s for fiat money, another crypto, or even a gift. This isn’t just a US thing. Countries like Mexico, Russia, and Argentina treat crypto as property, not currency, meaning every sale triggers a taxable event. If you bought Bitcoin at $20,000 and sold it at $40,000? You owe tax on that $20,000 gain—even if you never touched a bank account.

What trips people up is thinking only cashing out to dollars counts. It doesn’t. Swapping ETH for SOL? Taxable. Trading Dogecoin for a NFT? Taxable. Even using crypto to buy a coffee in some places counts. The crypto taxation, how governments track and tax digital asset transactions. Also known as cryptocurrency tax rules, it’s evolving fast. In Russia, you pay 13% to 30% depending on income, with no deductions. In Mexico, gains are taxed as property income, and you must report every trade. And in Argentina, where inflation eats salaries, people use stablecoins to survive—but still owe taxes on the gains they lock in.

Then there’s the crypto income tax, taxes on earnings from mining, staking, or airdrops. Also known as crypto earnings tax, it’s separate from capital gains but often confused with it. If you earn $500 in staking rewards or get a free token from an airdrop, that’s income. If you later sell it for $1,000, you owe capital gains on the $500 profit. These two taxes stack. And if you used a mixing service to hide your trail? You’re not just risking fines—you’re making your tax filing impossible.

Here’s the hard truth: tax agencies aren’t guessing anymore. They’re getting data from exchanges, blockchain analytics firms, and even your wallet addresses. The IRS, Russia’s tax service, and Mexico’s SAT are all watching. You don’t need to be a genius to file right—you just need to track your buys, sells, and swaps. Keep records. Know your cost basis. Don’t assume your exchange sent you a 1099. Most don’t.

Below, you’ll find real breakdowns of how crypto taxes work in places like Mexico and Russia, what happens when an airdrop turns into a taxable event, and how wrapping tokens like WBTC or wETH can complicate your tax bill. No fluff. No theory. Just what you need to know before you click ‘sell’.