BlockFi failed in late 2022 and has been paying customers back through a wind-down ever since. The interest you earned and the trades you made still belong in the tax years they happened in, and what you have received back may need reporting as well. Upload your records and Recap turns them into a tax position.
Disclaimer
The information provided in this content does not endorse BlockFi. Furthermore, it does not constitute tax advice. If anything financial or tax-related is unclear, speak to a qualified tax professional. You can also share your Recap account with your accountant or tax adviser directly.
What was BlockFi?
BlockFi was a digital asset lender offering interest accounts, crypto-backed loans and trading. It halted withdrawals in November 2022 in the wake of FTX and filed for Chapter 11 on 28 November 2022. It emerged from bankruptcy on 24 October 2023, shut its web platform in May 2024, and began returning crypto to customers through Coinbase in July 2024.
Here's a breakdown of what BlockFi provided:
What BlockFi offered
- Interest Accounts: Allowed users to earn interest on their cryptocurrency holdings, with interest paid out monthly.
- Crypto-Backed Loans: Enabled users to borrow cash by using their cryptocurrency as collateral, without needing to sell their digital assets.
- Trading Services: Provided a platform for buying, selling, and trading a variety of cryptocurrencies.
- Credit Card: Offered a crypto rewards credit card, where users could earn Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as rewards for their purchases.
- Institutional Services: Provided tailored services for institutional investors, including lending and borrowing of digital assets.
How to simplify your BlockFi crypto taxes with Recap
You can make the process of calculating your taxes stress-free with our crypto tax software. Upload your BlockFi data to Recap, and our system will classify and value all transactions using our unique fair-market valuation engine and determine your tax liability.
Sync BlockFi CSV How are BlockFi Transactions Taxed?
Tax implications on your BlockFi transactions differ based on transaction types and your tax jurisdiction. Here are the tax guidelines for the different transaction types on BlockFi:
| Transaction type | CGT disposal | CGT acquisition | Income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposits | CGT disposal: no. BlockFi's export has no deposit-fee column, so the parser records a zero fee and no fee disposal arises. | CGT acquisition: no | Income: no |
| Withdrawals | CGT disposal: no. A 'Withdrawal Fee' row with the same timestamp and asset is folded into the withdrawal as its fee; a crypto fee is recorded as a WithdrawalFee disposal of the fee asset at market value, while a fiat fee is not chargeable. | CGT acquisition: no | Income: no |
| Buying crypto with fiat | CGT disposal: no | CGT acquisition: yes. The crypto enters the section 104 pool at the trade's valued amount; any positive fee on a fiat-for-crypto trade is attached to that acquisition. | Income: no |
| Crypto to crypto | CGT disposal: yes. Recap's default: the trade is valued from the quote side (‘Trade valuation method’ = Quote for portfolios created after 2022-05-25). Configurable: Disposed, which values from the disposed side. | CGT acquisition: yes | Income: no |
| Selling crypto for fiat | CGT disposal: yes | CGT acquisition: no | Income: no |
| Earning staking rewards | CGT disposal: no | CGT acquisition: yes. The reward enters the section 104 pool at the same market value used for the income figure. | Income: yes. Only 'Interest Payment' rows are treated as income. 'Bonus Payment', 'Promotion' and 'Referral Bonus' rows are imported as Airdrops, which create a pool acquisition but never an income event; their pool cost follows the ‘Airdrop cost method’ setting. BlockFi's internal 'BIA Deposit'/'BIA Withdraw' rows are skipped entirely. |
This table shows how Recap classifies each transaction type by default. Some treatments — such as the acquisition cost used for airdrops — are configurable in Recap. This is general information, not tax advice; consult a qualified tax professional about your circumstances.
This table shows Recap's default classification for common BlockFi transactions. It is not an exhaustive schedule or a ruling. Treatment depends on your circumstances and jurisdiction, and you can recategorise any transaction where yours differ. Confirm your position with a qualified tax adviser.
Refer to our tax guides for a more detailed look at crypto tax rules.
What a BlockFi claim means for your tax return
Losing access to crypto is not automatically a disposal, and a bankruptcy claim is itself an asset you hold in place of what you lost. When the estate pays out, you may be receiving a different asset, or cash, rather than the coins you put in, and that is where a gain or loss usually crystallises.
The dates above matter because they fix which tax year each step falls into. Putting a reasonable value on a claim is a judgement call rather than a calculation, so this is a point to involve an accountant rather than rely on a default. Recap gives you the underlying history and the valuations; the position you take on the claim is yours to decide.
