The positions were vacated by the pair following their acceptance of voluntary resignation offers, after serving in the government for just over a year, according to two individuals.
Two key directors involved in the IRS’s crypto initiatives, Seth Wilks and Raj Mukherjee, left the agency on Friday after they accepted deferred resignation offers issued by the Department of Government Efficiency.
Wilks and Mukherjee, who joined the IRS from the cryptocurrency sector, went on paid administrative leave as of Friday afternoon, though they will remain officially employed by the agency for the next few months, according to two individuals with knowledge of the matter. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump’s administration extended deferred resignation offers to a broad group of federal employees through the DOGE program.
IRS Hired Industry Veterans to Lead Digital Asset Initiative
In February 2024, the IRS brought in Wilks—formerly a vice president at TaxBit—and Mukherjee—previously the head of tax at ConsenSys and Binance.US—to join the Digital Asset Initiative. They took charge of enhancing the agency’s cryptocurrency taxation strategy, which included developing reporting, compliance, and enforcement programs and collaborating with industry stakeholders. They also contributed to the updated 1099-DA tax form, which the IRS released last summer to help U.S. individuals report digital asset-related tax obligations.
The pair also oversaw portions of the agency’s efforts to draft tax regulations for the cryptocurrency sector.
The IRS finalized one such regulation—introducing specific data collection obligations for decentralized finance (DeFi) brokers—during the final phase of the former Joe Biden administration. Earlier this year, Congress nullified the rule through a joint resolution, which President Trump signed into law under the Congressional Review Act.
Wilks served as the executive director of digital asset strategy and development at the IRS, while the IRS appointed Mukherjee as the executive director of the digital assets office.
Both individuals noted that the two officials had accepted voluntary buyouts. However, the officials submitted their deferred resignations ahead of anticipated reductions to IRS personnel.
Over 20,000 IRS employees enrolled in the deferred resignation program, according to a report by the New York Times last month. The IRS placed them on administrative leave through September.
