Trish Turner, the head of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) digital assets division, has resigned only three months after taking the role, sparking surprise across the crypto and tax industry. Turner, a 20-year IRS veteran, announced her departure in a LinkedIn post, reflecting on her career and contributions to shaping the agency’s digital asset strategy.

“Together, we navigated complex challenges, built lasting programs, and laid the groundwork for the IRS’s digital asset strategy as it shifted from niche to mainstream,” Turner wrote.

Her next move will be in the private sector. According to Bloomberg Tax, Turner is set to become tax director at Crypto Tax Girl, a leading crypto tax advisory firm. Founder Laura Walter confirmed the appointment, highlighting Turner’s expertise as crucial at a time of growing regulatory shifts in crypto taxation.

Turner’s resignation adds to the leadership churn at the IRS’s crypto unit. She took over the division in May following the exits of Sulolit “Raj” Mukherjee and Seth Wilks, who both left after about a year. Economist Timothy Peterson commented on Turner’s move with humor, saying she “left the Dark Side to become a Crypto Jedi Knight.”

Her departure comes amid heightened focus on crypto taxation in the United States. In March, the Department of Government Efficiency proposed a 20% cut to the IRS workforce, while in July, the House Committee on Ways and Means announced a hearing to discuss a framework for digital asset tax policy. Earlier, the Treasury Inspector General flagged lapses in the IRS’s handling of crypto investigations, and in April, President Donald Trump overturned a rule that would have required decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to report transactions.

Turner’s shift to the private sector signals both the challenges and the growing demand for tax expertise as crypto enters mainstream financial oversight.