Taxable Event is something we hear all the time, but it's not what you may necessarily think.

US Specific here.

A taxable event is something you report to the IRS when doing your taxes. What matters (in a keep it simple stupid way) for understanding how much you pay in taxes is not the transactions you made, but your profits and losses.

Just because you bought 100 USDC for 100USD doesn't mean you owe taxes on it.

You DO have to report it, but it did not affect your profits or losses.

Convert XLM to bitcoin? Report it. But no losses? Cool.

Bought eth, at ATH then panic sold? That's reportable, but also a loss and can (to some extent) be used to reduce your tax burden.

TLDR: taxable events do not mean you will be taxed for that transaction. It just means it's reportable, and can (but not necessarily) affect your profits and losses and thus your tax burden.