It’s an unfortunate habit, but federal agencies tend to announce enforcement actions and rulemakings at the end of the day on Fridays, especially Fridays before a holiday. For crypto, last...
Blog
Senate Attaches Controversial Crypto Sanctions Bill to Must-Pass Intelligence Legislation
The Terrorist Financing Prevention Act threatens crypto freedom with new sanctioning powers. Here's why it needs urgent revisions before moving forward.
A version of the Terrorist Financing Prevention Act (TFPA) has been attached to a must-pass intelligence authorization bill in the Senate. We have not written about the TFPA before because,...
New Legislation Proposes Clear Tax Guidelines for Crypto Block Rewards
The bill would make clear that taxes are owed only upon sale or disposition of tokens, not upon receipt of reward
A bill was introduced in Congress which would clarify that taxes on block rewards are not due at the time of acquisition, but instead upon their sale or disposition. The...
DOJ’s New Stance on Crypto Wallets is a Threat to Liberty and the Rule of Law
Sudden DOJ charges against non-custodial wallet developers challenge long-standing U.S. policy on money transmission. It is regulation by criminal enforcement.
It has been the clear and consistent policy of the U.S. government since at least 2013 that cryptocurrency wallet developers and the users of those wallets are not money transmitters....
Senate Bill Risks Innovation and Free Speech with Stablecoin Ban
While aiming to regulate stablecoins like Terra, the Lummis-Gillibrand bill potentially stifles innovation and breaches First Amendment rights by banning all algorithmic models.
Sens. Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand this week introduced a bill to create a regulatory framework for stablecoins, which is a laudable endeavor. Unfortunately that bill also includes a complete...
New crypto tax reporting obligations took effect on new year’s day
Here’s what you need to know and what we’re doing about it
We wish you all a very happy new year! Unfortunately, the new year also brings a new law that is not only unconstitutional but also virtually impossible to comply with...
While portions of the proposal may be workable, much will depend on how legislation is ultimately drafted
This week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sent a letter to the heads of the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees following a briefing on how Hamas and...
It’s time to have the conversation: Is the Bank Secrecy Act unconstitutional?
Beyond the speech and privacy issues, the BSA is a sweeping delegation of law making power
Today we’re publishing another report on the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) entitled “Broad, Ambiguous, or Delegated: Constitutional Infirmities of the Bank Secrecy Act.” In our 2019 report, “Electronic Cash, Decentralized...
There’s a centuries-old standard that tells us when regulation of crypto is justified
We explain in a comment letter on the IRS’s proposed broker rules, but the standard applies well beyond
Today Coin Center submitted a comment letter in the Treasury Department’s ongoing rulemaking on the definition of “broker” for third-party tax reporting purposes. In brief, we argue that the definition...
A Simple Legislative Fix to Complicated Tax Rules for Personal Cryptocurrency Transactions
Congress should Create a De Minimis Exemption for Personal Cryptocurrency Transactions
Existing rules for the taxation of cryptocurrency can make even the simplest of transactions a confusing ordeal to track, record, and report. A legislative fix is needed for everyday transactions,...