The crypto legal framework has suffered considerable changes through the years, but investors are wondering if it’s currently going in the right direction. One of the most annoying actions is taxing cryptocurrency without specific guidelines or an established rule set. However, crypto taxing is required for selling, swapping, and even spending, but there’s no regulation for safety.
Indeed, governments haven’t got the idea of crypto but are trying to adapt blockchain within their systems to improve the speed at which documents get solved or strengthen security measures. But they haven’t tried providing more guidance for investors or learning how to buy Bitcoin, therefore never engaged with these assets.
Now, another taxing law for crypto has emerged, and users must be wary of it if they don’t want to be found guilty of a felony.
Reporting cryptocurrency receiving
Starting from the first of January, Americans must report to the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) within 15 days if they collected $10,000 or more in crypto. The file report should include the date and nature of the transaction and a few aspects about the person who sent the money.
However, many problems arose from this situation, as the institution hasn’t yet provided a file to complete from users. Experts outlined the lack of technology adaptation from these bodies because if, for example, miners receive that amount through block rewards, how is it possible to fill that form, considering there’s not a single person contributing to these funds?
This also applies to situations where anonymous users donate Bitcoin or Ethereum to a public address because you can’t list someone as the donor. The institution somehow expects crypto to be reported similarly to cash, which is impossible for many reasons.
How should users treat crypto regarding taxing?
Cryptocurrencies and similar assets must be treated like property by the IRS, which makes them somewhat compatible with real estate or stocks, helping them better assign taxes and determine liability. However, cryptocurrencies rarely stay long in investors’ portfolios, as they must be put to work to yield results and transferred to a decentralized ecosystem.
Users must also understand how DeFi and ICOs are taxed because they’re prominent features of the crypto market. For instance, receiving tokens via ICOs is treated differently across jurisdictions, while the tax implications for DeFi are indeed a challenge for many.
The regulatory landscape must be closely followed because it changes constantly, and it’s differently approached in various areas. Others are not even considering crypto as a source of income, while countries like the UK want to regulate it.
Why is it so hard to provide a legal framework?
Although cryptocurrencies are new to the market, they still impact users and the economy, especially Bitcoin, which withstood many difficulties for 15 years, from high-spiked volatility to being banned from some countries. Therefore, governments could have taken the appropriate measures early on when crypto wasn’t that evolved and complex.
For instance, mining Bitcoin became more difficult as the years passed due to frequent halving events and an increasing number of new miners. Of course, the government can’t interfere and change the whitepaper of an asset or regulate it like cash, but they can still learn about it.
However, it seems like crypto was only recently discovered by some institutions, such as the SEC, which strongly disagrees with this form of payment.
Therefore, the main problem might be people’s scepticism in accepting and adopting something that hasn’t been used for generations and is not familiar. But as crypto has volatility, so does inflation influence cash, which doesn’t make it so reliable in the long term. Crypto may fluctuate in value, but at least it is not losing it entirely like cash is, especially if it’s not among the ten strongest currencies in the world.
When will Bitcoin get regulated?
Some believe the crypto environment will be considerably helped if Bitcoin gets regulated because it will set a standard that other tokens could follow in the adoption race. While Bitcoin’s global adoption has been wanted for some time, it’s hard to say when this will happen because the legal complexity of this emergence cannot be described.
Regulating a cryptocurrency transacted through blockchains and other decentralized ecosystems
can be difficult because monitoring its courses on these networks requires considerable work and would require an AI to do the job.
Unfortunately, due to its nature, there are some risks to regulating the crypto market. It may restrict market access and hinder innovation, which is the most disastrous. The performance of crypto on the market would be heavily influenced by more rules as the business costs also increase.
Regulation in crypto has some benefits, though
Besides risks and limitations, regulation could bring so much more to the industry than market openness. Investors would be protected from scams and market manipulations, a frequent threat to their assets. They would always receive the correct information and be guided correctly in regard to their challenges, including mitigating tax rules.
Money laundering and terrorism financing could also be minimized since almost everything on the blockchain can be detected. This helps reduce systemic risks and promote inclusion among people who want to access cryptocurrencies.
Better regulation increases market participation, therefore encouraging investors to develop their portfolios and driving a positive sentiment among them. With so many investors and users interested in crypto, companies would have it easy to spur innovation and improve blockchain technology to have access to interoperability between them. Investors would then access better software and hardware solutions constantly.
Bottom line
A new tax law for crypto has been adopted since the first of January and implies that everyone who receives $10,000 in crypto or more must fill out a document provided by the government to declare this received. However, there are some problems with this new law because the document requires the name and address of the one who sent money to the recipient, which cannot always be completed. After all, many anonymous users can’t be traced, and miners receiving this amount instead get it from many sources.
