United States entrepreneur and serial cryptocurrency advocate John McAfee has fled the country to conduct his 2020 presidential campaign, he said in a video statement Jan. 22. McAfee claims he has been indicted by U.S. tax authorities and plans to run his campaign from a boat in international waters. The controversial crypto community figure, who plans to run for president of the U.S. next year, said he had learned that a grand jury had been convened against him by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). While he said he did not know the exact nature of the allegations against him, McAfee …

An article published Dec. 21 by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has suggested investors should sell and then repurchase their Bitcoin (BTC) as a strategy to save on taxes. In the context of the 2018 crypto bear market, the WSJ suggests that “the only good thing about investing in cryptocurrencies [this year] was the tax break.” Given that the United States tax authority, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), has treated crypto as investment property as of 2014 — akin to stocks and bonds, not currency — crypto users can allegedly benefit from the “special and often favorable” taxation policy the …

Individual US states seem to be in competition for the title of the most crypto-friendly in the Union – Ohio’s recent announcement of imminent crypto tax payments being the latest example. Meanwhile, federal authorities remain in disarray with regard to how to define, let alone consistently regulate digital assets. It is not just stakeholders and crypto buffs who bemoan the disorderly state of federal policies: their usual talking points have been recently validated by academics. In an article forthcoming in a Journal of Financial Transformation, University of Arkansas Law School professor Carol Goforth weighed in with an opinion that essentially …

United States’ cryptocurrency regulations are creating a problematic image for the country as an innovator and it needs a “more nuanced approach.” Two university professors have made this claim in an article Friday, Dec. 7, referring to a paper originally published Nov. 16. Discussing the current regulatory setup governing cryptocurrency, Carol Goforth of Oxford University and Arkansas School of Law’s Clayton N. Little blamed the “overlapping” authority of various regulators as hindering progress. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and more all attempt to govern cryptocurrency, the professors say, but …

United States Rep. Warren Davidson (R) has announced plans to introduce legislation that would clearly regulate cryptocurrencies and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), local Ohio news agency Cleveland.com reports Dec. 3. According to Cleveland.com, Davidson announced his intention to introduce new legislation at the Blockchain Solutions conference. The bill would create an “asset class” for cryptocurrencies and digital assets, which “would prevent them from being classified as securities, but would also allow the federal government to regulate initial coin offerings more effectively.” This development would bring clarity to U.S. crypto regulation. Currently, state regulatory agencies classify tokens differently, in ways that …

Fraud, inefficient and expensive systems, a lack of transparency and slow transactions at busy times are a reality for many business networks around the world – inconveniencing merchants, their customers, and even the middlemen tasked with processing their transactions. Volume limitations have also frustrated retailers who may have considered turning to crypto, while a lack of security has deterred the public. Optherium, a global fintech company, believes that its ecosystem could be the silver bullet to eliminate the main issues facing the crypto world – as well as the old-fashioned economy. According to its white paper, the platform wants to …

An advisory committee of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) wants the agency to provide additional guidelines for the taxation of crypto transactions, according to a 2018 general report published Oct. 24. Although in 2014 the IRS had already issued commentary specifically on digital currencies, recommending they be treated as a property, the Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee (IRPAC) believes that crypto-specific taxation should be reviewed due to the growing public interest in cryptocurrencies. The crypto industry itself and those who work in taxes often still are uncertain when it comes to the “tax consequences” of cryptocurrency transactions, the report …

Ripple will lead a group of crypto startups to lobby lawmakers and financial regulators in D.C. to support crypto and blockchain innovation, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, September 27. According to the report, the coalition of San-Francisco-based crypto firms is planning to pay Klein/Johnson Group, a bipartisan lobby group, to assist the crypto and blockchain community in conveying to regulators that the industry needs support from the government. The new group, called the Securing America’s Internet of Value Coalition, aims to soften the government’s stance in order to encourage innovation and support competition in the ecosystem of global crypto markets. The …

New research into publicly available records shows that U.S. government agencies have tripled their investment in blockchain intelligence firms this year, according to a Diar report published September 24. As Diar outlines, blockchain analysis can be used by financial institutions or banks to track compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) regulations. The analysis can equally be used as a “digital trail” that provides law enforcement agencies with actionable intelligence, allowing them to potentially counter illicit activity that would otherwise remain concealed behind pseudonymous crypto wallet addresses. U.S. government agencies reportedly account for $5.7 million out a collective total …

U.S. lawmakers have called on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to issue clarified and “comprehensive” crypto taxation guidance, in an open letter submitted yesterday, September 19. The letter was sent to acting IRS commissioner David Kautter by Congress members David Schweikert, Darin LaHood, and Brad Wenstrup, Kevin Brady and Lynn Jenkins from the Committee on Ways and Means. It opens by calling attention to a prior letter sent by the representatives in May of last year, which had already questioned the agency’s lack of a comprehensive crypto taxation strategy. Since then, the lawmakers claim, “the IRS [has] continue[d] to expand …

Kenneth A. Blanco, director of the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), has revealed that the agency has seen a surge in filings of crypto-related Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs). The number of complaints now exceeds 1,500 per month, according to him. Blanco’s remarks were made as part of a speech he delivered at the 2018 Chicago-Kent Block Legal Tech Conference August 9. The director outlined FinCEN’s ongoing role in regulation and law enforcement for the emerging crypto space, which it coordinates in tandem with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). He noted …

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has launched an international taskforce together with tax enforcement authorities from four other countries to take on cryptocurrency-enabled crimes, according to a press release published Monday, July 2. The new coalition, dubbed ‘The Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement,’ or ‘J5,’ comprises tax enforcement agencies from five countries in total –– Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, alongside the U.S. As part of J5, the agencies will cooperate on intelligence and criminal investigations “to reduce the growing threat to tax administrations posed by cryptocurrencies and cybercrime,” as well as to target transnational …