Cryptocurrency is a commodity in Canada: each coin has one pooled cost base, and selling OR swapping it is a taxable disposition. See your capital gain, the taxable half, and your remaining ACB — including why a coin-to-coin trade is taxed even without cashing out. Nothing here is uploaded; it only lives in this page.
The CRA treats cryptocurrency as a commodity, not currency. Selling, trading, or spending it is a disposition that triggers a capital gain or loss (or business income if you trade frequently). Like stocks, each coin has a pooled adjusted cost base, and 50% of a capital gain is taxable.
Yes. A coin-to-coin swap — for example trading Bitcoin for Ethereum — is a disposition of the coin you gave up at its fair market value in Canadian dollars at the moment of the trade. You realize a capital gain or loss even though no dollars reached your bank account. This is the single most missed crypto tax event.
Pool it. All units of the same coin across every wallet and exchange share one adjusted cost base: total Canadian-dollar cost (including fees) divided by total units. When you dispose of some, the ACB of the units sold is that average per-unit ACB times the quantity — the same identical-property rule that applies to stocks.
Yes. If you sell crypto at a loss and buy the same coin back within 30 days (before or after) and still hold it, the loss is denied and added to the ACB of the units you repurchased — exactly as with a stock.
If your activity looks like a business — high frequency, short holding periods, sophisticated trading, or promoting a product — the CRA may treat your gains as fully taxable business income rather than half-taxable capital gains. It is a facts-and-circumstances judgment; frequent traders should confirm their treatment with an accountant.
Educational information, not tax advice. Crypto tax treatment depends on your facts — confirm reporting with a qualified accountant.
Sched3 pools your crypto ACB across wallets, treats swaps as the dispositions they are, flags superficial losses, and carries it all into your Schedule 3 — alongside your stocks, ETFs, and equity compensation.
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