Hello "Chicken Little Syndromer",
Don't be like Zack Braff, the Cryptocurrency World is stable and intact. To use a paraphrase of the famous line used in the inaugural address of our president Franklin D. Roosevelt, "that the only thing we have to fear...is fear itself!"
During our upcoming, and highly anticipated BC fork, we tend to see the failures on the horizon rather than the opportunities at hand. In an ongoing, and more recent newsworthy bit of news is the SEC and its roving eyes on cryptocurrency...and their drooling over the concept of treating cryptocurrency (i.e. Bitcoin) as money. Therefore, to be regulated, and TAXed.
Well, I have an answer. Straight from the horses mouth..THE IRS!
They are the controlling agency, and pose legal standing over the SEC: Below is their guidance on the treatment of digital currency, and in a nutshell, we have the issue decided in our favor that cryptocurrency/digital currency is 'PROPERTY'
For your reading pleasure:
IRS Virtual Currency Guidance : Virtual Currency Is Treated as Property for U.S. Federal Tax Purposes; General Rules for Property Transactions Apply
IR-2014-36, March. 25, 2014
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today issued a notice providing answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) on virtual currency, such as bitcoin. These FAQs provide basic information on the U.S. federal tax implications of transactions in, or transactions that use, virtual currency.
In some environments, virtual currency operates like “real” currency -- i.e., the coin and paper money of the United States or of any other country that is designated as legal tender, circulates, and is customarily used and accepted as a medium of exchange in the country of issuance -- but it does not have legal tender status in any jurisdiction.
The notice provides that virtual currency is treated as property for U.S. federal tax purposes. General tax principles that apply to property transactions apply to transactions using virtual currency. Among other things, this means that:
• Wages paid to employees using virtual currency are taxable to the employee, must be reported by an employer on a Form W-2, and are subject to federal income tax withholding and payroll taxes.
• Payments using virtual currency made to independent contractors and other service providers are taxable and self-employment tax rules generally apply. Normally, payers must issue Form 1099.
• The character of gain or loss from the sale or exchange of virtual currency depends on whether the virtual currency is a capital asset in the hands of the taxpayer.
• A payment made using virtual currency is subject to information reporting to the same extent as any other payment made in property.
SO my fellow CC/DC ...keep banging your heads to the bit beat, and trade like the "sky is falling", and let the profits rain in.
-medianation
As Bruce Lee said "Fear is for others"
I like cybercurrency and crypto-assets.
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While not a "chicken little" I am a bit more cautious when it comes to Bitcoin acceptance.
While legally "property" Bitcoin is still somewhat meaningless in terms of being a recognized global currency.
One can own chicken eggs yet that doesn't make eggs (or Bitcoin) any more acceptable as a formal or alternative currency. Naturally, any property which generates capital gains will be made taxable.
Bitcoin is simply a derivative of useless computer processes. Processes which purely exist to produce the derivative - which thankfully have speculative value.
Now Ripple is another matter...
LOL I bought some XRP tonite... 2000 to be exact