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Perkins Coie's
Virtual Currency Report provides news and analysis on legal developments relating to Blockchains and digital currencies.
There is very little official guidance from the IRS on
virtual currency reporting requirements, so consulting with a trained cryptocurrency accountant this tax season is a very wise choice.
Not exact matches
Gary Gensler, who once led the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has joined M.I.T., where he is warning about potential problems for
virtual currencies, the New York Times
reports.
Think beyond sales: If you bought a cup of coffee from a merchant that accepts
virtual currency, you'll need to
report it.
In the worst case, failure to properly
report your
virtual currency transactions may lead to fines of $ 250,000 and prison.
If you have swapped one
virtual currency for another, you still need to
report the «like - kind» exchange to the IRS and track the basis.
The Internal Revenue Service revealed new details about its investigation into tax evasion related to bitcoin, filing court documents that suggest only a tiny percentage of
virtual currency owners are
reporting profits or losses in their annual returns.
As Fortune has previously
reported, one
virtual currency lawyer believes the IRS's request for all of the Coinbase accounts may just amount to a tactic.
Take - Two also
reported a nuanced quarter on Monday, which proved its ability to put up good numbers from its catalog and digital areas with creative ways to drive sales and revenue through its use of its
virtual currency system.
Late last year, the FBI's Phoenix office warned of an increase in people
reporting email threats, demanding that they pay a sum in
virtual currency or prepaid cards — or else.
«Payments made with
virtual currencies are not only irreversible,» the
report continues, «they also do not have the same legal protections as most traditional payment methods, such as the ones you have when using a credit card.»
Last Tuesday, Yonhap News
reported that South Korean Finance Minister Kim Dong - yeon also said in a radio program interview that «the shutdown of
virtual currency exchanges is still one of the options» the government has.
April 6 - George Soros's $ 26 billion hedge fund is planning to trade cryptocurrencies, Bloomberg
reported on Friday, months after the billionaire investor called the
virtual currency a bubble.
Hackers are identifying bitcoin and other
virtual currency investors and users online, figuring out which telecommunications provider they use, and convincing a cell provider customer service agent to transfer the number to a provider and device under the hacker's control, Forbes has
reported.
Reuters and other media had
reported this week, citing sources, that China planned to further ban exchanges that allowed
virtual currency trading but the regulator has yet to make an announcement.
ETHNews previously
reported that Chinese
virtual currency exchanges Huobi and OKCoin will cease their operations by October 31, 2017.
In the document, the bank's governor, Veerathai Santiprabhob, wrote that financial institutions would not be allowed to invest or trade in
virtual currency, nor to operate exchanges or other kinds of trading platforms, according to
reports.
Building off of its November 2017 Discussion Paper on Initial Coin Offerings,
Virtual Currencies and Related Service Providers, the MFSA's most recent report analyzes how the European Union's overarching Market's in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) defines financial instruments and, more importantly, if those definitions carry implications for DLT assets like virtual curr
Virtual Currencies and Related Service Providers, the MFSA's most recent report analyzes how the European Union's overarching Market's in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) defines financial instruments and, more importantly, if those definitions carry implications for DLT assets like virtual c
Currencies and Related Service Providers, the MFSA's most recent
report analyzes how the European Union's overarching Market's in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) defines financial instruments and, more importantly, if those definitions carry implications for DLT assets like
virtual curr
virtual currenciescurrencies.
The IBM and Kaspersky
reports on the increase in cryptocurrency mining malware detections come after a string of incidents during the past few months that involved
virtual currency miners.
The pessimism in recent days has been fed by several
reports that governments around the world were planning to tighten the reins on
virtual currency trading.
Susi (as she's referred to by Indonesian publications) went on to relate that the bank plans for the
virtual currency to be asset - backed, though
reports on her statements do not name the assets that might be in consideration.
That same day, local media
reported that the central bank is pledging a
virtual currency clampdown.
However, there is no primary purpose limitation, meaning anyone who has responsibility for taking care of
virtual currency keys for someone else will likely need to carry out due diligence, monitor transactions and
report suspicious activity.
The company would have to file a notice with the regulatory department; pay a registration fee of $ 250; provide evidence of registration with FinCEN as a money services business; agree to not invest or pledge
virtual currency in its custody or control on behalf of others or to engage in the exchange or transfer of legal tender; and prove its policies for
reporting, disclosures, and compliance.
In a
report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published on December 8, 2016, and publicly released on January 9, 2017, the IRS is called out for its lack of guidance in regard to taxpayers investing individual retirement accounts (IRA) in «unconventional assets,» including
virtual currency.
In a
report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) dated September 21, 2016, the IRS was chastised for not providing meaningful
virtual currency guidance to taxpayers.
Thus,
virtual currency needs to do everything it can to make sure that the public is aware of the true facts and that any false
reports linking
virtual currency to violence or other criminal activity are promptly discredited.
Indeed, in 2013, in response to continued suggestions by the media and governments that Bitcoin was playing a primary role in funding terrorism, the UK parliament issued a
report indicating that ISIS was not receiving any significant funding through
virtual currency:
«We will not let financial institutions handle transactions related to
virtual currencies,» said Kim Yongbeom, vice chairman at Financial Services Commission, according to a media pool
report Monday.
When completing Boxes 1, 3, and 5a - 1 on the Form 1099 - K, transactions where the TPSO settles payments made with
virtual currency are aggregated with transactions where the TPSO settles payments made with real
currency to determine the total amounts to be
reported in those boxes.
«Some pump and dumps use false news
reports, typically about a famous high - tech business leader or investor who plans to pour millions of dollars into a small, lesser known
virtual currency or coin.
This massive selloff on
virtual currency exchanges is the second of its kind in the last three weeks, with a similar event having taken place on April 19, 2017, as
reported by ETHNews.
Just two weeks ago, ETHNews
reported that the FSA would appoint a chief of cryptocurrency monitoring and establish a 30 - person team to regulate
virtual currency exchanges.
The 2014 IRS notice also provided that salaries paid in
virtual currency are subject to normal
reporting requirements (i.e. W - 2, 1099 etc.) Still, there's an inherent problem due to the anonymity of cryptocurrency wallets.
Receiving wages from an employer in a
virtual currency is like being paid in dollars: It is taxable to the employee, must be
reported by the employer on a Form W - 2 and is subject to federal income tax withholding, according to Wolters Kluwer.
According to the
report, because cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet providers are under no obligation to identify suspicious activity, terrorist groups are able to transfer money into the EU's financial system, taking full advantage of the degree of anonymity provided by
virtual currency platforms.
One of the most common questions TurboTax received from its users was how and where to
report their
virtual currency transactions, according to Lisa Greene - Lewis, an accountant with TurboTax.
Last week, ETHNews
reported on the ruling, which supports the CFTC's 2015 finding that
virtual currencies like bitcoin are commodities.
Initial
reports explained that at a news conference, South Korean Justice Minister Park Sang - ki stated, «There are great concerns regarding
virtual currencies and the Justice Ministry is basically preparing a bill to ban cryptocurrency trading through exchanges.»
«Members of Congress and covered employees are already required to
report certain asset holdings over certain amounts, including
reporting any commodities holding over $ 1,000, a Member or covered employee should
report any
virtual currency holding as they would
report any other commodity, such as gold.»
In the future we hope to work with the IRS to establish a reasonable tax
reporting method that makes sense for
virtual currency service providers and consumers alike.
It contends that «there seems to be a substantial gap between the number of people transacting in
virtual currency (for which tax consequences might attach) and those that are
reporting such transactions.»
Ethereum, the second - largest digital
currency by market cap fell by 6 percent in value after a
report that regulators are contemplating whether it and other
virtual currencies should be treated like stocks.
According to recent
reports, Intelligence Agencies in India have just issued an official
report stating that
virtual currencies such as Bitcoin can be used for the funding of illegal activities, by people who also move their funds through hawala transactions.
In July of this year, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took a critical first step to rein in the growingly speculative bubble surrounding these start - ups when it issued a
report concluding that such coin offerings should be predominantly classified as securities offerings, and hence mandated to fall under registration, disclosure and other requirements that apply to securities, regardless of whether those securities are purchased with
virtual currencies or distributed with blockchain technology.
And it notes the European Central Bank's (ECB)
report «
Virtual Currency Schemes» (October 2012) worrying that «virtual currency schemes -LSB-...] could represent a challenge for public authorities, given the legal uncertainty surrounding these schemes, as they can be used by criminals, fraudsters and money launderers to perform their illegal activities.
Virtual Currency Schemes» (October 2012) worrying that «virtual currency schemes -LSB-...] could represent a challenge for public authorities, given the legal uncertainty surrounding these schemes, as they can be used by criminals, fraudsters and money launderers to perform their illegal activities
Currency Schemes» (October 2012) worrying that «
virtual currency schemes -LSB-...] could represent a challenge for public authorities, given the legal uncertainty surrounding these schemes, as they can be used by criminals, fraudsters and money launderers to perform their illegal activities.
virtual currency schemes -LSB-...] could represent a challenge for public authorities, given the legal uncertainty surrounding these schemes, as they can be used by criminals, fraudsters and money launderers to perform their illegal activities
currency schemes -LSB-...] could represent a challenge for public authorities, given the legal uncertainty surrounding these schemes, as they can be used by criminals, fraudsters and money launderers to perform their illegal activities.»
After a first wave of phone porting attacks on the
virtual currency community last winter, which was
reported by Forbes, their frequency appears to have ticked up, Mr. Perklin and other security experts said.
Reports from state - owned media sources in China on January 19, 2018, indicate that a circular, titled «Notice Concerning the Self - examination and Rectification of Providing Payment Services for Illegal
Virtual Currency Transactions,» was released online.
On Sunday evening, Financial News, a publication linked to the People's Bank of China (PBoC),
reported, «To prevent financial risks, China will step up measures to remove any onshore or offshore platforms related to
virtual currency trading or ICOs.»