HMRC recovered £477m in additional capital gains tax last year, up 82%.
“We are seeing more targeted inquiries and we understand the Revenue is using AI in reviewing statements and records,” Jeff Millington of Withers told the FT.
Advisers say HMRC has become 'more assertive' in its pursuit of untaxed gains, asking taxpayers for more information and taking increasingly aggressive positions in settlements, while facing pressure to bring in more revenue through compliance.
Combine that pressure with greater data access, more aggressive enforcement and AI-assisted review and the risks are obvious.
People can be pulled into investigations on flawed assumptions, decisions become harder to challenge, and ever more sensitive information is concentrated in systems few taxpayers can question.
For Bitcoin holders the consequences can be much more serious. A bank record stays inside a closed system. A Bitcoin address already sits on a public ledger.
Once a name, home address or tax ID is linked to that address, any future leak or disclosure turns years of activity into a permanent, searchable public record and creates lasting physical security risks.
More aggressive enforcement combined with expanding data powers needs far more scrutiny than it is getting.
Full article: https://www.ft.com/content/b4996387-0a4a-4f75-b16d-830fbc8c40c3?syn-25a6b1a6=1
quotingHMRC wants more power over financial data. The problem is that Bitcoin is not a bank account.
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Once names, home addresses and tax IDs are linked to a Bitcoin address, that information can stay connected to a public ledger indefinitely.
Europe is already seeing the consequences when crypto holders’ identities and holdings are exposed.
France saw 19 verified physical attacks on crypto holders in 2025. A French tax official was charged after using government software to look up crypto investors' details and passing data to criminals.
I spoke to HM Revenue & Customs, Recap, BULL BITCOIN and Knightbridge Tax about what the UK and EU rules could mean for privacy, self-custody and physical security.
Tax enforcement should not create a target list.
My latest for Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2026/10/08/hmrcs-proposed-crypto-powers-could-increase-physical-security-risks/