What crypto reconciliation actually is
Crypto reconciliation is the process of taking every exchange export, wallet history, and on-chain transaction and matching them into a single, complete, accurate ledger. Every buy needs a cost basis. Every transfer between your own wallets needs to be recognised as a transfer, not a sale. Every staking reward, airdrop, and DeFi position needs to be classified correctly before a single gain is calculated.
Get the reconciliation wrong and every number after it is wrong too. This is the step that decides your tax bill, and it is the step crypto tax software is worst at. In the UK we reconcile under HMRC Share Pooling (TCGA 1992 s.104). In the US we track lots for IRS Form 8949. The reconciliation comes first. The filing is the easy part.
What we reconcile
- ✓Exchange exports from Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Bybit, Crypto.com and 40+ more
- ✓On-chain wallet activity across Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana and EVM L2s
- ✓Wallet-to-wallet transfers matched so they are never taxed as disposals
- ✓Missing cost basis rebuilt from historic price data
- ✓DeFi: liquidity pools, lending, bridging, wrapping, LP rewards
- ✓Koinly and CoinTracker files reviewed, corrected and reconciled before filing
Three reconciliation errors that inflate your gains
Koinly and CoinTracker are useful data aggregators, but reconciliation is automated on best-guess rules. When the guess is wrong, your gain is overstated and you overpay. These are the three we correct most often.
Missing cost basis
Coins that arrive without a purchase record get taxed on the entire sale price. The gain is overstated by the full original cost, sometimes doubling the bill.
Transfers seen as sales
Moving your own coins between your own wallets is not a taxable event. Unmatched, software logs it as a disposal and invents a phantom gain that never happened.
FIFO instead of Share Pooling
Default FIFO is wrong for UK tax. HMRC requires Share Pooling with the same-day and 30-day rules. FIFO can overstate UK gains by 15 to 40 percent in volatile periods.
In one client case, reconciling transfers and rebuilding cost basis reduced an overstated capital gains figure by £21,400. Proper reconciliation may reduce overstated gains where the original report contains errors. That is not tax avoidance. It is getting the number right before you file.
From messy exports to a filed number
Send us what you have
Koinly or CoinTracker exports, raw CSVs, wallet addresses, or all three. On the free 30-minute review we tell you how bad the reconciliation gap is and give a fixed quote.
We reconcile by hand
We match transfers, rebuild missing cost basis, classify DeFi and rewards, and apply the correct jurisdiction rules. You see the corrected position before anything is filed.
File and keep the papers
We file with HMRC or the IRS and hand over full working papers, so the reconciliation stands up if anyone ever asks. Standard cases finish in 14 to 21 days.
Reconciliation is usually the first stage of a full crypto tax service. Want a person on it rather than a tool? See our crypto tax accountants. Already on Koinly? Read where the software gets UK tax wrong.
Crypto reconciliation questions
What is crypto reconciliation?
Crypto reconciliation is matching every transaction across your exchanges and wallets into one accurate, complete history, with a cost basis on every asset and every transfer recognised as a transfer rather than a sale. It is the step that decides your gain before any tax is calculated.
Why can’t Koinly or CoinTracker just reconcile it for me?
They reconcile automatically on best-guess rules. When cost basis is missing or a transfer is unmatched, the software still produces a number, just the wrong one. We frequently find UK reports left on FIFO with unmatched transfers, which overstates the gain. We review the file and reconcile it properly before filing.
Does reconciliation reduce my tax bill?
It reduces overstated gains where the original report contains errors, which is common. It does not avoid tax you genuinely owe. The goal is an accurate number, and an accurate number is often lower than the one the software produced.
Can you reconcile DeFi and multi-chain activity?
Yes. Liquidity pools, lending, bridging, wrapping and LP rewards across Ethereum, Solana, Bitcoin and EVM L2s are a core part of the work, in both the UK and US.
How much does crypto reconciliation cost?
Reconciliation is quoted with the filing after the free review. Standard UK Self Assessment or US filing for a moderate-volume holder typically ranges from £400 to £1,200 plus VAT. High-volume DeFi or multi-year work is quoted after the call. No fee is charged until you accept the quote.