IRS Appoints Trish Turner as Crypto Division Head Amid Leadership Change and Regulatory Shift
The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has named Trish Turner, a long-standing IRS veteran, as the new head of its digital assets division following the resignations of Sulolit “Raj” Mukherjee and Seth Wilks. Both Mukherjee and Wilks, who brought private-sector crypto expertise, left after a year due to challenges in the federal work environment, low morale, and delayed resignation policies. Turner’s appointment comes as the IRS intensifies cryptocurrency tax compliance, with increased audits and criminal investigations into digital asset transactions. Meanwhile, more than 23,000 IRS employees are reportedly contemplating resignation, reflecting internal instability. In parallel, the Trump administration is rolling back several restrictive crypto regulations, such as broker reporting requirements for DeFi platforms, and pausing SEC and DOJ enforcement actions. Turner’s leadership is expected to stabilize the division and guide it through these regulatory shifts. For crypto traders, these developments signal a potentially softer regulatory stance on digital assets in the near term, affecting expectations around compliance, reporting, and enforcement in the US.
Neutral
The IRS leadership change, with Trish Turner taking over during a period of regulatory softening, may provide short-term clarity and internal stabilization as enforcement temporarily relaxes. However, ongoing compliance efforts, potential internal disruptions, and uncertainty over future IRS and federal crypto policies make the market impact neutral. Crypto traders might expect less aggressive enforcement in the near term, but the overall regulatory direction could shift again, maintaining a wait-and-see posture in the market.