Derivative contracts on crypto prices. Regulated futures traded on a US exchange such as CME are section 1256 contracts, marked to market at year end and taxed 60 percent long-term and 40 percent short-term. Perpetual swaps on offshore or decentralized platforms are not, and are generally taxed as ordinary capital transactions when closed.
Regulated futures: section 1256, 60/40 rates, mark-to-market, Form 6781. Perpetuals: ordinary capital treatment on close, funding payments tracked separately, no 60/40.
The venue decides the treatment. CME Bitcoin futures get the 60/40 split and loss carrybacks; a perpetual on an offshore exchange gets neither, and its funding payments are their own income and expense stream.
Unsettled. See prediction market taxes. CME crypto futures clearly are; most other crypto derivatives are not.
Source: IRC 1256; IRS Form 6781 instructions
Last reviewed September 17, 2026. Tax rules change; confirm current law before acting.
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