CARF and DAC8 reporting for smaller crypto platforms.
From 2026, UK and EU crypto platforms must collect tax self-certifications from every user and report their transactions to HMRC or their national tax authority. The penalties are per user. Lucidblock is building the simplest way for a platform without a compliance team to get it done - collection, aggregation and the filing.
Three jobs. All new this year.
The Cryptoasset Reporting Framework (CARF) applies in the UK from 1 January 2026. The EU's DAC8 implements the same standard on the same timetable. If you exchange or transfer crypto-assets for customers, you are almost certainly in scope.
A self-certification from every user
Name, address, date of birth, tax residence and tax identification number. New users at onboarding; existing users by 31 December 2026. Two reminders, then the account must be blocked after 60 days.
Each user's year, per crypto-asset
Crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto exchanges, transfers in and out, and large retail payments - as totals, units and counts, valued at the time.
The OECD XML, validated and submitted
To HMRC's cryptoasset reporting service by 31 May 2027, or to your member state's authority under DAC8. Then corrections, user notices and five years of records.
Built for a platform with no compliance team.
Enterprise vendors serve the large exchanges. We are building for the exchange, broker, ATM operator, on-ramp or custodial wallet with a few hundred to a few tens of thousands of users.
Hosted self-certification
A form your users complete in minutes, embeddable in your app or sent by link, with tax-ID format checks, reminders and the 60-day block workflow. Bulk import of the data you already hold from KYC.
Transaction ingestion
Upload a CSV or connect an export from your platform. We classify every transaction into the CARF categories, value it in fiat at the time and aggregate per user and asset.
Validated XML and filing
The report generated in the OECD schema, validated before you submit, with the HMRC wrapper first and EU member-state wrappers to follow. Corrections and resubmissions handled.
Records and notices
User notification letters, an audit trail of every self-certification and submission, and the five-year archive the rules require.
Probably you.
- Exchanges and brokers, however small
- OTC desks
- Crypto ATM operators
- On-ramps and payment processors
- Custodial wallets that exchange or transfer for users
- Non-EU firms with EU users, under DAC8
- Non-custodial wallet software and hardware
- Validators and stakers who only validate
- Collectible NFT platforms
- DeFi front-ends with no control over the protocol - a judgment call
A summary of the UK regulations and OECD guidance, not legal advice. Scope questions are worth a conversation with your adviser - or with us.
Help shape it, pay less for it.
We are taking on a small number of founding platforms for the first reporting cycle. In return for your time and feedback, you get the self-certification module as soon as it is ready, a fixed annual price well below the enterprise tools, and a named person who knows your data.
Questions, answered.
Is this live today?
Not yet. We are building the self-certification module first because it is due first, and we are working with founding platforms on the transaction and filing modules ahead of the May 2027 deadline. Talk to us and we will tell you exactly where things stand.
We use a KYC provider. Do we still need this?
Probably. KYC verifies identity; CARF needs a tax self-certification with residence and tax ID, kept valid, plus the aggregation and filing. Some KYC vendors are adding the first part. Few do the rest for smaller firms.
Can our accountant file for us?
Yes, and many small platforms will go that way. We are happy to work with your accountant: they get the validated XML and the audit trail, you get the self-certification workflow.
What will it cost?
A fixed annual price by number of users, set with founding platforms. The aim is a figure a small platform can approve without a procurement process, and well below a single penalty event.
Does this replace tax advice?
No. We build the tooling and the reports. Whether you are in scope, and how edge cases are treated, is a question for your adviser - we will give you the facts to take to them.
Filing in 2027? Start with the users you have now.
Tell us what you need and the decision it feeds into. You get a fixed quote and a delivery date before any work starts.