A new SEC proposal has a serious change hidden within its complex language.
Coin Center files a comment explaining why it is unconstitutional.
Today Coin Center filed a comment letter with the Securities and Exchange Commission on its proposed rulemaking regarding the definition of ‘exchange’ and Alternative Trading Systems. Bottom line: The Commission's...
New crypto sanctions bill targets publishing code, facilitating transactions
Bill would place sweeping restrictions on persons who build, operate, and use cryptocurrency networks even if they have no knowledge or intent to help evade sanctions though the Administration’s own experts have repeatedly said cryptocurrency evasion is not serious
Senator Warren and a raft of Democratic co-sponsors today introduced a bill [PDF] titled the Digital Asset Sanctions Compliance Enhancement Act, which would place sweeping restrictions on the cryptocurrency ecosystem...
Congress takes a step toward a de minimis exemption for everyday cryptocurrency transactions
The Cryptocurrency Tax Fairness Act has been re-introduced
The Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act of 2022 was introduced with bipartisan sponsors in Congress today. It would create a sensible de minimis exemption for low value cryptocurrency transactions in...
IRS signals retreat in court battle that could reshape block reward taxation
Newly minted crypto should be taxed at sale, rather than creation
Last year, Joshua Jarrett sued the IRS for a refund. In 2019 he earned block rewards on proof-of-stake networks, paid taxes as if those rewards were income (as per the...
New bill would hand Treasury blank check to ban crypto at exchanges
And not just crypto. Provision in the America COMPETES Act would allow Treasury to secretly prohibit any kind of transaction it deems a “concern” without any public notice or input.
Another must-pass bill, another rushed policy that severely damages the privacy and constitutional rights of cryptocurrency users. We’ve just seen language in the America COMPETES Act of 2022 (see page...
How policymakers should think about “staking”
The difference between on-chain and custodial staking
A misconception we sometimes see from policymakers looking at cryptocurrency networks is that “staking” and “staking rewards” are some kind of security or interest-bearing lending activity that should be subject...
The long-awaited FATF crypto guidance is not as bad as it could have been, but still flawed
Here’s the good, bad, and ugly
After a half-year delay, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is back with crypto guidance. The good news is that it’s not as bad as last spring and even includes...
Open Blockchains and Decentralized Identity Standards
An open letter to the W3C Director, CEO, team, and membership
Coin Center is the leading non-profit research and advocacy center focused on the public policy issues facing cryptocurrency and decentralized computing technologies. Our mission is to build a better understanding...
An unworkable and arguably unconstitutional tax change tucked away in the infrastructure bill
§6050I requires counterparties to surveil each other, even without an intermediary
Much has been said of the dangerously ambiguous revised definition of “broker” in the infrastructure bill and its potential to stifle cryptocurrency innovation in the U.S. There is, however, another...
“Expansive” standards for surveillance threaten human autonomy—our message to FATF
The global body’s draft guidance makes a substantial departure from the balance struck by existing standards
Today Coin Center submitted a comment to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) about their recent draft guidance on virtual assets and virtual asset service providers (VASPs). Additionally, this morning...