New York Pushes Bold Crypto Tax, Projected to Raise $158 Million a Year

New York lawmakers are making waves with a controversial new proposal: a crypto tax designed to tackle the state’s opioid crisis.

The bill, Assembly Bill 8966, would impose a 0.2% levy on all cryptocurrency and NFT sales and transfers, marking one of the most aggressive moves yet by a U.S. state against the booming digital asset industry.

If passed, the tax could take effect as early as September 1, hitting not only local users but also global crypto firms doing business within New York’s borders.

Assemblymember Phil Steck estimates the measure could generate $158 million annually, funneling funds directly into schools to support substance abuse prevention and intervention programs.

A Tax to Fund the Fight Against Addiction

New York’s opioid epidemic remains devastating. According to the Office of Addiction Services and Supports, 33 out of every 100 New Yorkers lost their lives to overdoses in 2023 alone.

Lawmakers say the crypto tax could provide a fresh, reliable funding stream for addiction treatment and education programs.

The strategy mirrors moves in other states, such as Wyoming, which recently directed revenue from its state-backed stablecoin reserves toward education funding.

Crucially, the New York bill casts a wide net: it would apply not only to NFTs but also to digital assets acquired through mining and staking, as well as stablecoins.

Despite the ambitious revenue projections, there are doubts about the actual scale of crypto activity in New York.

When Assemblymember Steck requested transaction volume data, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS)—the regulator behind the state’s controversial BitLicense regime—refused to provide specifics.

A quarterly NYDFS report noted oversight of 845 million transactions across 20 institutions in 2024, yet the dollar value was withheld.

Even more, those figures excluded transactions conducted by residents, meaning the real scale could be significantly higher.

The Impact on New York’s Crypto Industry

New York City has long been a magnet for both Wall Street and Web3, hosting industry giants like Circle, Paxos, Gemini, and Chainalysis. Its status as a global financial hub has cemented the city as a cornerstone for digital asset innovation.

The state was also the first in the U.S. to formalize crypto regulation with the BitLicense in 2015, a landmark framework that still divides the industry.

While some firms abandoned New York over the costly compliance burdens, others—including Circle, Paxos, and Gemini—chose to adapt, betting that the credibility and market stability of stricter oversight outweighed the drawbacks.