dYdX Tax Software Compared

DYDX Token Migration (Dec 2024)

The DYDX token migrated from Ethereum (ethDYDX) to the native dYdX Chain at a 1:1 ratio. The migration bridge was shut down on June 9, 2025 following a governance vote with 91% approval. Approximately ~41.7M ethDYDX tokens (~$26.2M) are confirmed stranded on Ethereum with essentially no liquidity — many retail holders were unaware of the deadline. Kraken and other exchanges handled this automatically. The migration is generally treated as a non-taxable event (same asset, different chain), but if you hold stranded ethDYDX, consult a tax professional about potential loss recognition.

Perpetual Futures Tax Treatment

Crypto perpetuals do not qualify for Section 1256 treatment (the 60/40 long-term/short-term split). They are taxed as regular property transactions reported on Form 8949. Since perpetual swaps settle daily and have no expiration date, most gains are effectively short-term capital gains, taxed at your ordinary income rate.

IRS Notice 2024-57 exempts notional principal contracts (including perpetuals) from Form 1099-DA reporting until further guidance is issued. Separately, Congress repealed the IRS "DeFi broker rule" via the Congressional Review Act in 2025 — as of July 2026, decentralized protocols like dYdX are not required to issue Form 1099-DA under current law. Neither change removes your obligation to report gains and losses yourself.

Funding rate payments: A common conservative treatment is that funding received is ordinary income when credited, while funding paid may be treated as a disallowed investment expense for individual filers who don't qualify for trader tax status (rather than a direct reduction to gains). This area is unsettled — confirm the approach with a tax professional before filing.

Important: Koinly does not auto-import PNL from dYdX perpetuals. You must manually add trades via CSV export. Professional tax advice is strongly recommended for perpetuals.

DYDX Staking Rewards

Staking DYDX tokens earns rewards that are taxable as ordinary income when received (IRS Rev. Rul. 2023-14). The fair market value at receipt becomes your cost basis. Track the date and value of each reward.

US Regulatory Status

dYdX launched Solana spot trading for US users (with KYC) — the first US market access on the platform. However, perpetuals remain blocked for US residents pending CFTC/SEC guidance. If you have historical perpetuals activity from before geo-blocking, you still need to report it. The platform's decentralized nature doesn't exempt you from tax obligations.

Fee Buyback Program (Updated March 2026)

The community approved increasing the buyback allocation to 75% of protocol fees (up from an initial 25%). An experimental 100% buyback ran through January 2026. Staking rewards from buybacks are distributed as USDC and are taxable as ordinary income at the fair market value when received.

Staking Changes (2026)

dYdX introduced a new "Stake-for-Reduced Fees" program — trading fee discounts are now linked to DYDX staking amounts. Current staking yield is very low (~0.02%). There is a 30-day unbonding period when unstaking. Any staking rewards (however small) remain taxable as ordinary income when received.

Per-Wallet Cost Basis (Rev. Proc. 2024-28)

IRS Rev. Proc. 2024-28 requires taxpayers to track cost basis on a per-wallet/per-account basis starting in 2025, rather than pooling all holdings together. This affects how you allocate cost basis across exchange accounts and self-custody wallets used with dYdX, and interacts with upcoming Form 1099-DA broker reporting for centralized platforms. If you haven't allocated basis by wallet yet, do this before your next filing — most tax software requires manual setup for this.

Watch This Space: Arcus (Robinhood Chain)

On July 1, 2026, dYdX Labs announced Arcus, a new DEX built with Robinhood on the "Robinhood Chain" L2, targeting tokenized equities and RWA perpetuals. dYdX Labs stated that future Arcus token allocations are reserved for the dYdX community — a potential future airdrop, which would be taxable as ordinary income when claimed. No token mechanics, eligibility criteria, or distribution timeline have been announced yet; nothing to act on today beyond staying aware.