CRA rules for ETH capital gains, staking rewards, gas fees, DeFi swaps, and how to track your Ethereum cost base across wallets and protocols.
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Get KOHO Free — Code 45ET55JSYAEthereum (ETH) is taxed exactly like Bitcoin and all other cryptocurrencies in Canada — as a commodity. Every disposition of ETH triggers a capital gain or loss calculation. This includes selling ETH for fiat, swapping ETH for another token, spending ETH on NFTs, or using ETH for DeFi activities.
What makes Ethereum more complex from a tax perspective is the ecosystem surrounding it. ETH is used to pay gas fees on Ethereum transactions, it can be staked to earn rewards, it's the base currency for thousands of DeFi protocols, and it was involved in a historic merge from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake in September 2022.
When Ethereum merged to proof-of-stake in September 2022, existing ETH holders did not receive new tokens — they simply continued holding ETH on the updated network. CRA has not issued specific guidance on the merge, but since existing ETH holders received no new asset, the merge itself is generally not considered a taxable disposition. Your ACB carries over unchanged.
Staking Ethereum — whether solo staking, through a liquid staking protocol like Lido or Rocket Pool, or through an exchange — generates staking rewards. The CRA's position (consistent with its guidance on mining) is that rewards are likely taxable as income when received, at their fair market value in CAD on the date received.
ETH spent on gas fees is a disposition of ETH. You must calculate the gain or loss on each gas fee payment. Practically, if your ACB per ETH is close to the current ETH price, gains on gas fees will be small — but they add up, especially for active DeFi users. Gas fees paid when acquiring crypto can be added to your ACB; gas fees paid when disposing reduce your proceeds.
Ethereum's DeFi ecosystem creates numerous potential tax events. Each swap on Uniswap, deposit into Aave, or yield farming action needs to be analyzed. See our dedicated DeFi tax guide for full details, but here are the key events:
| DeFi Activity | Tax Event? | Treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Token swap (e.g. ETH → DAI) | Yes | Capital gain/loss on ETH disposed |
| Adding liquidity (ETH + USDC → LP token) | Likely yes | Disposition of ETH and USDC at FMV |
| Removing liquidity | Likely yes | Disposition of LP token; reacquire ETH/USDC at FMV |
| Borrowing against ETH (collateral) | Generally no | Loan, not disposition |
| Yield farming rewards | Yes | Income at FMV when received |
| Staking rewards (ETH 2.0) | Yes | Income at FMV when received |
Using ETH to buy an NFT is a disposition of ETH — you must calculate the capital gain or loss on the ETH spent. The NFT then has an ACB equal to the ETH value at the time of purchase. When you later sell or trade the NFT, that triggers another taxable event on the NFT itself. See our NFT tax guide for Canada for full details.