Global tax transparency is here. Driven by the OECD, the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) has officially come into effect. What does this mean? Starting from 2026, major centralized exchanges (CEX) will be required to report users' transaction details to global tax authorities—including transaction amounts, frequency, asset types, and other sensitive data.

The impact on CEXs is self-evident. User privacy will be reduced, regulatory pressure will increase, and some leading exchanges have already sensed the changing winds. Last year, many CEXs began to ramp up their focus on decentralized exchanges (DEX), essentially preparing for this policy shift.

Interestingly, under this policy-driven push, DEXs are now experiencing a new wave of attention. Whether in terms of trading experience or ecosystem tokens, the DEX sector is gaining momentum. In the long run, decentralized trading will become an important complement to the crypto market, even exerting competitive pressure on traditional CEXs.

For traders, understanding this structural change and choosing the right trading methods may be more valuable than chasing hot coins.