Imagine if Tether, the stablecoin giant, was a US-based company; it could have added a whopping $1.6 billion to Uncle Sam's piggy bank. But there's more to this crypto tale than just taxes!
Airdrops, the digital fairy dust of blockchain projects, are meant to sprinkle joy and decentralized value across eager users. But Dragonfly’s latest scoop reveals a plot twist: the big, bad geoblocking wolf is huffing and puffing away users, especially in the US, thanks to strict regulations. These rules are not just party poopers—they're blocking financial opportunities and leaving both users and the government counting their losses.
Dragonfly's deep dive into 12 airdrops between 2019 and 2023 shows the harsh reality for US crypto fans. An eye-popping 920,000 to 5.2 million users were left twiddling their thumbs, missing out on the action due to these restrictions. That’s around 5-10% of local investors, sidelined!
Even though the US is a big player in the crypto game, holding 22-24% of blockchain addresses, these policies are like a bouncer at the hottest club, keeping a chunk of fans from grabbing those shiny, newly minted tokens.
The numbers paint a vivid picture. Those 11 geo-blocked airdrops? They generated a staggering $7.16 billion in value, with lucky claimers worldwide pocketing an average of $4,600 per address. Meanwhile, US users missed out on a treasure chest of $1.84 billion to $2.64 billion from 2020 to 2024. Zoom out, and the broader picture is even bleaker, with forfeited revenues for US folks possibly climbing to $3.49 billion to $5.02 billion.
And it’s not just the users feeling the pinch. The taxman is also missing out, with lost revenue from these digital goodies ranging from $418 million to $1.1 billion in federal taxes and $107 million to $284 million in state taxes. Total missed tax collections? A jaw-dropping $525 million to $1.38 billion, not even counting potential capital gains taxes when these tokens are cashed in.
Oh, and let's not forget about the corporate tax revenue slipping through fingers like sand. With crypto businesses packing their bags and heading offshore, the US is losing out big time. Case in point: Tether, with its $6.2 billion profit party in 2024. If it were a US citizen, it could have forked over an impressive $1.3 billion in federal corporate taxes and $316 million in state taxes. Now that's a hefty coin jar!
