This is a much more serious issue than is being talked about on here. Most folk seem quite blasé about it but having experienced an audit first-hand they dont play around. LB`s reliance on a single form of Crypto has always been a bit of an issue but from next year (probably later this year tbh) it's going to become a very serious problem I suspect. I love this place & want to see it continue & grow but if it just stays as-is in the face of the new regs I`m not sure how it survives.

Anyone who has not actually looked at the reporting requirements should have a proper look at them. It's bad enough as a customer, as a vendor I would be very nervous I think.

Is it a solvable problem? Yes of course it is, all problems are but given we have be clamouring for alternative payment options for literally years at this point & we are still stuck on BTC only I`m not sure it will get solved.

Governments were never going to tolerate the "Wild West" approach of Crypto for very long, they like control too much.I am reluctantly looking into other options as I dont need the stress of every transaction potentially triggering an investigation. What would you realistically tell them anyway?

Hi Foxy2022

I agree with you I had a letter from them saying that they were aware of my online selling on digital platforms and that I had to report everything else they'll look into it deeper.

If they do the same with crypto there is going to be much pain.

Should we be optimistic thats it’s only from 2026?

We could be, but it’s financial services, and those guys don’t mess about when it comes to keeping their house in order. Perhaps it’s time to lay low and see where the dust settles. I just hope LB comes up with some alternative ways for users to purchase now that doesn’t drag us all down via the taxman

Hi clifton

I've repeatedly tried to warn biggas about this without being too explicit (not mentionning some Gov related keywords).

The way I've dealt wiht it is that I closed my Revolut account at the end of 2024 and am siting tight and watching what will happen next.

Some biggas could be in for mighty fines and big trouble.

Cheers

small time weed buyers using crypto will not be fined. The fines mentioned in the article are for the companies themselves. The regulations may make buying more problematic from Jan 2026 onwards. Peoples accounts may be restricted or suspended, but there will be no financial or legal difficulties for past buying behaviour.

I totally agree with this. We keep getting our knickers in a twist but there is no offence of buying weed online -offences cover possession and supply not crypto purchases for personal use. Sure companies can ask for more information about your transaction but I do not think they’re going to be able to check that information. My bank contacted me several times wanting to know about my small purchases of crypto. The first time I told them I was building a crypto portfolio. The second time I said I was buying medicinal cannabis. They said that’s okay we just need to make sure you are not being coerced or scammed. I really wonder whether anybody gives a shit about personal use by post.

Hi Polly

Your bank is not the problem the problem is going to be Exchanges reporting all your crypto transactions to the Taxman:

Quoting (but you'll find more if you do your own research):
https://x.com/UKCBT_org/status/1924473318297764236
#################################
From 1 Jan 2026, UK-based cryptoasset service providers must collect and report user data to HMRC, under the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), aligning with OECD standards.

🔍 Who’s affected?
Any platform that facilitates crypto transactions : exchanges, brokers, dealers.

📊 What data is required?
• Individuals: name, DOB, address, tax ID
• Entities: legal details + controlling persons
• Transactions: type, units, value
📅 First report due: 31 May 2027 (for 2026 activity)
✅ Systems must be CARF-ready by 31 Dec 2025
💥 Penalties: Up to £300 per user for non-compliance. Senior management may be held liable.
#################################

I'm not 100% certain of what will happen but I can tell you I'm already being burned by mandatory reporting of online selling platforms to the Taxman. They use AI to sift through the data and spot suspicious transactions.

Right now my approach is lto lay low and investigating P2P / non-KYC.

Better safe than sorry!

Sorry mate, but am I missing a point here? Surely you are only liable for tax on your crypto earnings. What’s that gotto do with buying weed? Personally I don’t stake any crypto. I literally just load up my wallet when I want to buy so where is the problem?

You are, Pol. They consider potential profit at the time of disposal of the crypto (in this case, by buying weed) for the purposes of Capital Gains. The threshold for that is £1k, I believe, so I can't see that I'd need to declare, as I rarely hold it for long, and often also make losses which would offset the gains. Hopefully they either don't notice, or agree if they do...

Again though that’s just paying tax on gains. So what?

So if it's less than £1000 in gains (not in purchases), and you have no other things to consider for the calculation, then it's fine...right...? They can talk to my accountant, again...

Hi MightyRux

Technically if you make less than 3K£ of Capital Gains in 25/26 you should not pay CGT.

The problem is that they expect you to keep the following records in case they carry a compliance check:

You must keep separate records for each transaction, including:

type of tokens
date you disposed of them
number of tokens you’ve disposed of
number of tokens you have left
value of the tokens in pound sterling
bank statements
a record of the pooled costs before and after you disposed of them

You may also want to keep other records such as wallet addresses.

HMRC might ask to see your records if they carry out a compliance check.

Some cryptoasset exchanges can provide reports of your transactions. These reports can be essential for working out how much tax you owe. However, these reports are not tax calculations and will not keep track of your pooled costs.

Yeah, they can fuck right off with that. I can barely keep track of legitimate records, let alone crypto weed purchase ones.

Hi Polly

MightyRux has it right in his post below.

CGT allowance is 3000£ for 25/26.

You are expected to track and report every transaction where you dispose of crypto to purchase services and goods even if it's a loss.

From the horse's mouth:
Individuals need to calculate their gain or loss when they dispose of their tokens to find out whether they need to pay Capital Gains Tax. A ‘disposal’ is a broad concept and includes:

selling tokens for money
exchanging tokens for a different type of token
using tokens to pay for goods or services
giving away tokens to another person (unless it’s a gift to their spouse or civil partner)

I am like you I never hold onto crypto but if I do not report those disposals and they start mining the data sent to them by the UK KYC Exchanges they will come for me with big trouble.

You might think that they won't have the staff and resources but the bastards now use AI to mine the data, I even found an FOI from late 24 where someone was asking them to divulgate the AI algorithmn which they use and they blocked it.

Hey Dukey,
I'm not trying to be difficult but we seem to be going around in circles here. My point is about biggas being at risk because they are buying drugs using crypto. I'm saying there is no risk in that respect. I totally get it that CGT is payable on crypto earnings and that Ruxxy for example stakes crypto as well as doing vast numbers of sizeable transactions (lucky sod!). In my case I could look at my exchange record, see maybe 100 transactions with a total value of c.£5k but it also shows the rate the crypto was bought at and transferred and its virtually the same because I am only buying to spend. There is no gain or loss. That information is sitting there for anyone who wants to see it and why should I care? Even if they hold me down and beat me until I tell them about all my tiny weed purchases online I still haven't done anything wrong.

I'm looking at it from the drugs angle mate not a tax issue. Where its a much bigger issue is secondary wholesalers and vendors but I'm guessing they have their methods as do many in Crypto Land...

Stakes it?! I'm the barometer of when not to buy or hold it mate! Genuinely. If you want to know when to buy it's probably when I have to sell (to get weed), and I lose money. That's what annoys me most about all this nonsense. Oh, and they don't take into account any fees you had to pay, they just want their cut. It's all hypothetical until it's cashed out, surely...? Entry and exit of the system are the risk points.

I definitely take your point about large buys though as it's at least £1k/month (well, just under, as then there's no trigger of anything to look into) that I'm getting and not holding for long. There's always some residual amount in the wallet though.

Hi Polly

You're not being difficult buddy.

Bear in mdin that I am not an expert, I am not saying that it will happen only that it might happen.

I received a letter about my online selling on digital platforms so I know that they can target people poking around their businesses.

I merely wanted to let biggas know that they have said they would get the exchanges to report to them.

The way I see it the current Gov is squeezing every penny they can from us common people so no sum is too small for them to recover.

I guess if I'm right we'll start hearing some horror stories early next year.

Good point, if you only buy and then move to exodus and send for purchase, and have never sold btc..are you exempt from all this?

I guess we'll have to wait and see but if I got a letter from the Revenue tomorrow then I would reply with a big fat duck egg '£0' and if they wanted the detail I would print off my exchange transaction sheet. Job done...don't see the issue.
There is a tendency to see ghosts in the shadows simply because we are buying drugs.

I do agree however that we are not exempted by the small transaction size. That actually makes us the low hanging fruit. Its so much easier to come after us than the big boys. Its the same reason why Coinbase have cancelled so many accounts- show the regulators some (meaningless) action whilst letting the players play...

For buyers the most worrying issue IMO isn’t HMRC saying we owe tax (though a 20% effective rise on weed prices certainly isn’t good)….
The most worrying side of this is the very real risk of having your bank account closed due to using it for illegal activity.
I know 2 different people who had their revolut accounts closed because they were regularly buying crypto but had no legit source of income.

For most people - I assume - a Revolut account is usually secondary to their primary account.

If no fraud charges are forthcoming, and the account was closed due to Revolut crypto policies, the individual can surely just open a new account with a different bank.

It's obviously not ideal, but not really a concern.

Banks are in no way obligated/legally required to let you open an account with them & they don’t even need to tell a reason if they decline your application. Banks also very much share information between each other.
Sure if you get one account closed for using crypto for illegal activity, you can probably open another account with a different bank…but what happens when that account also gets closed down? There is not an unlimited amount of banks in the uk. From what I’ve read from 2026 banks will be taking much more interest in any crypto transactions.
Plus having an account closed can’t look good for anything like mortgage/loan applications etc.
Personally I am very concerned about these upcoming new crypto reporting rules.
Pretty sure I read the free tax limit is being reduced from £3000 to £1000 also

All of the uncertainty surrounding the future of crypto purchasing, really just reiterates the need for legalisation. Especially with the potential financial benefit to the economy.

I would like to see more visibility of the issue in the media, promoting the impact this would have for the country. Less about the medicinal benefits, because people are more closed minded to these facts. We need the support of the consumers in high profile jobs, government officials and civil servants, people whose voice would be heard by those in power.

Outing yourself as a cannabis user publicly carries the obvious risks, but without standing up to be counted, the true scale of our impact will never be felt.

Personally, I am ready for a nation wide #iheartcannabis moment.

Power to the flower!

I bloody hope so, Pol!

Doesn’t the ‘building a portfolio’ reason not just mean they have already ticked the box on you for potential capital gains tax. Can’t even spend the money we earned that is already taxed without it being taxed again….wonder what LB can do to adapt for this because it could kill the business on here. It might be scaremongering but either way I don’t likely…

Hi Cheeching

That's exactly what my finance officer told me at work: the bastards tax you twice.

She invests in crypto but for long term gains only.

It'll be fine always been a cat and mouse game.. I've just been putting sending to myself so good luck to them 😂

Yeah how are they going to track all this. Doesn’t it mean it’s going to be worse for the vendors who are raking it in….i send to myself but then from exodus wallet purchase, does that not then look like I am accumulating crypto…

Vendors will have their coin sent to non-KYC wallets, and do magical mixing things and transfers before exiting the system (the risk point). Or, they could cycle it back into products and all still be anonymous? Definitely not a risk from this in that scenario, surely?

So thinking about stuff like this ages ago I made an Exodus wallet just to receive my referral payments from here (as obviously I wouldn't want that associated with a non-KYC wallet), and all I ever do with that is buy things from here. Closed system and no association with anything else, or any ID.

The article mentions that these crypto banks should start collating the data now in readiness…whether they will or won’t is anyone’s guess but I would venture they will start soon so they have their houses in order go for Jan 2026. Is it time to call it a day I wonder or how would one work around this

Just do some research into how best to cover your tracks. Bitcoin will get increasingly less transparent. So move your transactions about a bit. If you really are paranoid, look into bitcoin tumblers. But even these aren’t foolproof.

At the end of the day there are > 1,000,000 transactions a day.

Unless they really care about £100 each time. You don’t need to worry about it.

At the very least transfer from your exchange to a personal wallet. It’ll cost slightly more, but negligible really.

It does become slightly more suss if the only reason you transact Bitcoin is for cannabis. But it’s very, very hard to prove. Especially in small amounts.

I’d not use Bitcoin for weight. Seems too traceable.

Hi Syd

They've got tumblers covered too:

"Using a mixer, tumbler or similar service so that the individual receives the same type of tokens that they put into the transaction also is not a disposal. However, it will constitute a disposal if the individual puts token A into the transaction and receives token B in return."

As I said they will go after every penny and they put the onus on you t report everything least they'll look into it themselves and that you do not want.

That’s an absolute other story. The whole they’ll “go after every penny” thing.

You sir. Have made £1000 of obscure purchases this year. Declare that shit. Or we’ll fuck you up. 🤷‍♂️

If you’ve made £100k worth. I’d be a little more concerned.

It’s in the long run cheaper to go after the higher value targets. Your £100 here, £100 there.

I’d say you’ll be minorly inconvenienced, at best. It pays to stay sensible though.

Hi Syd

Do not underestimate the power of AI: they can and they will go after everyone they can.

They've modified Connect to use AI now and it is lethal.

Once AI has flagged someone up all it has to do is spit out a compliance check letter.

Whether you comply or not is on you but obviously if you don't then they can investigate and there is no stone which they won't leave unturned if they do.

I agree that there is a point of diminishing return for them as they might end up having to investigate huge amounts of people.

When I looked at what I spent on LB over the last couple of years it was significant, definitely not a 100£ a year.

Even if they know you’ve made these transactions they cannot technically prove it was cannabis you purchased and received unless they catch you with the product itself. That’s why it would be hard to prove. Still I may use this opportunity to quit smoking again because it’s getting a bit iffy me being honest.

So what can vendors do to keep biggy alive I want to stay but I’m not as in the know as much as I would want to be could someone help a bigga out

Not a vendor, just super cautious, but the main thing I feel as an initial step would be only having payouts from here sent to a non-KYC wallet like Exodus. You'd need to chat to vendors about mixing and sending to other wallets and how to exit the system

You can also mix between coins and muddy the waters that way.

You have to suck up the transaction fees of course.

Exidous ✅ go too for a wile thank you rux

I’m surprised that a site like LB hasn’t embraced XMR/Monero. The last time I checked it was one of the few untraceable crypto’s. Easily exchangeable for other digital currencies. It would seem ideal for LB purposes.
That all said & done I don’t know how this tightening of rules & regulations is going to effect a currency like Monero.

Oh ffs, so what is going to be the best way around this now. Should I be closing my CB account, and just give up on LB. Surely this is going to kill the site and its users unless a new approach is found

Just closed my Revolut acc which I never used anyway…everything I do is on CB, but I then use exodus wallet

Hi Cheeching

That's what I've done too.

Looking at P2P and non-KYC.

Some places in Europe still have crypto ATMs but this a an OECD initiative supposedly to fight money-laundering and such things.

Any links/ pointers for this p2p, I am clueless on it

Hi cheeching

Thereis hodlhodl where you can sometimes buy BTC off private sellers using bank payments.

There is also one called Bisq which I started looking into but is more complicated.

Ok thanks, will have to a look. Bank payments you say…?

Google hodl hodl and the site doesn’t load for me, do I need to be on vpn..or something else?

Hi cheeching

Bank payments but also other options.

Main thing I'm after is npn-KYC so that they don't report thransactions to the Taxman.

It loads OK for me hodlhodl.com but I use a VPN indeed

I could never work out how to actually make a transaction on there. Baffled me, and I generally deal with complex information as a matter of course.

Hi MightyRux

Which is why I said I am investigating it :-)

HodlHodl does not see too complicated but ther clearly is a trust factor at work.

If I'm lucky I'll be able to go to one of those EU countries where they still have crypto ATMs although the UK clampdown on crypto is part of a wider OECD initiative so I wouldn't be surprised if European ATMs disappear.