The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has lost two of its top crypto experts, Seth Wilks and Raj Mukherjee, who both stepped down from their positions on Friday.
Though officially still employed by the IRS, they are now on paid administrative leave and are expected to leave completely in the coming months. Their departures come as part of a larger effort by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under President Donald Trump’s administration, which offered deferred resignation packages to thousands of federal employees.
Wilks and Mukherjee were both hired in February 2024 to lead the IRS’s Digital Asset Initiative, a major push to improve the agency’s handling of cryptocurrency taxation. Previously, Wilks was a Vice President at TaxBit, and Mukherjee held senior tax roles at ConsenSys and Binance.US.
At the IRS, the two individuals played crucial roles in crafting regulations and tools to help the agency better comprehend and monitor cryptocurrency transactions. They worked on improving reporting standards, compliance procedures, and enforcement tools.
One of their primary tasks was to help update the 1099-DA tax form, which is used by US taxpayers to report digital asset transactions. This was intended to help crypto users file their taxes more accurately and ensure the IRS had the necessary data to monitor the growing digital asset space.
They were also active in the development of cryptocurrency tax legislation, such as that requiring DeFi (decentralized finance) brokers to gather and disclose specific user information. However, Congress changed that rule earlier this year using the Congressional Review Act, and President Trump signed off on the resolution.
Wilks served as the Executive Director of Digital Asset Strategy and Development, while Mukherjee was the Executive Director of the Digital Assets Office.
According to reports, both accepted voluntary buyout offers in anticipation of significant IRS staffing cuts. Over 20,000 IRS employees have opted into the deferred resignation program, many of whom are also on administrative leave through September.
Their exits mark a setback for the IRS’s crypto initiatives, as the agency loses two of its most experienced leaders at a time when clear tax rules for digital assets are more critical than ever.
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