The Empire Strikes Back: Congress and Trump Prepare to Curb Crypto Tax Evasion

Wednesday, 06/12/2017 | 15:35 GMT by Victor Golovtchenko
  • The Department of Homeland Security is closely monitoring the issue of cryptos
The Empire Strikes Back: Congress and Trump Prepare to Curb Crypto Tax Evasion
FM

The Bitcoin market is gearing up for the latest batch of institutional investors entering the market through the Chicago-based futures exchanges CBOE and CME. We’ve seen quite a rise in prices this autumn, especially in the aftermath of the announcement that the product is soon to go mainstream to Wall Street.

One of the downsides of going mainstream is increasing regulatory attention. US authorities led by Congress and the Trump administration in conjunction with none other but the Department of Homeland Security appear to be working on some crypto legislation.

Uncle Sam’s attention towards the crypto world starts with a Bill on Capitol Hill that is at present at the Committee of the Judiciary. The legislation was introduced by Iowa GOP Senator Chuck Grassley in May this year. The effort appears to be a bipartisan one with cosponsors from both sides of the aisle. It is designed to criminalize the failure to disclose any ownership of crypto assets.

The effort is supported by Democrat Senators Dianne Feinstein from California, Sheldon Whitehouse from Rhode Island and Amy Klobucher from Maine. The GOP’s Orrin Hatch from Utah and John Cornyn from Texas also are amongst the members of Congress actively working on this piece of legislation.

Trump Administration Officials Discussing Crypto

The administration of President Donald Trump is the other branch of government that is apparently concerned about crypto. The White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders elaborated in a recent press briefing that the hottest topic in the investment industry, Bitcoin was mentioned at briefings.

Namely, Mrs. Sanders outlined that it Bitcoin is being monitored and mentioned in briefings. The Homeland Security team at the White House has been singled out as the one that is tracking the issue.

Rapid Rise in Popularity and Anonymity Alerting for Big Government

The ongoing rise in Bitcoin prices and the popularity of Cryptocurrencies fall into a category that Conservative and Democrat lawmakers are equally concerned about. Terrorism financing, money laundering, and tax evasion are all on the table should the administration chooses to tackle the issue of the rising use of cryptocurrencies officially.

Earlier this week Coinbase lost an appeal and was mandated to share with the IRS data from some 20,000 accounts. The amount of data that the US government’s tax authority will get is much smaller than what it initially demanded, but changes to current legislation could make digital currency assets a scapegoat as the Trump administration’s tax cut effort doesn’t prevent an increase in the deficit.

Yes, I know that as ironic as it may sound, the government might be contemplating to tax the money that it hasn’t printed itself. But then it is only natural to expect it isn’t it?

When Can a Crackdown Materialize?

Bitcoin Futures trading is set to launch next week at the CBOE and a week later via the CME. The financial regulatory authorities are expected to monitor closely how is this market going to function. Any disruptive moves in the market should put a Bitcoin flashing red light higher on the desk of President Trump and his team at the Department of Homeland Security.

The doomsday scenarios that have been gathering speed lately when Bitcoin decimates central bank money are picking up speed. Inevitably they will end up on the US President’s desk one morning, but nobody knows whether it would be a morning too late…

The Bitcoin market is gearing up for the latest batch of institutional investors entering the market through the Chicago-based futures exchanges CBOE and CME. We’ve seen quite a rise in prices this autumn, especially in the aftermath of the announcement that the product is soon to go mainstream to Wall Street.

One of the downsides of going mainstream is increasing regulatory attention. US authorities led by Congress and the Trump administration in conjunction with none other but the Department of Homeland Security appear to be working on some crypto legislation.

Uncle Sam’s attention towards the crypto world starts with a Bill on Capitol Hill that is at present at the Committee of the Judiciary. The legislation was introduced by Iowa GOP Senator Chuck Grassley in May this year. The effort appears to be a bipartisan one with cosponsors from both sides of the aisle. It is designed to criminalize the failure to disclose any ownership of crypto assets.

The effort is supported by Democrat Senators Dianne Feinstein from California, Sheldon Whitehouse from Rhode Island and Amy Klobucher from Maine. The GOP’s Orrin Hatch from Utah and John Cornyn from Texas also are amongst the members of Congress actively working on this piece of legislation.

Trump Administration Officials Discussing Crypto

The administration of President Donald Trump is the other branch of government that is apparently concerned about crypto. The White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders elaborated in a recent press briefing that the hottest topic in the investment industry, Bitcoin was mentioned at briefings.

Namely, Mrs. Sanders outlined that it Bitcoin is being monitored and mentioned in briefings. The Homeland Security team at the White House has been singled out as the one that is tracking the issue.

Rapid Rise in Popularity and Anonymity Alerting for Big Government

The ongoing rise in Bitcoin prices and the popularity of Cryptocurrencies fall into a category that Conservative and Democrat lawmakers are equally concerned about. Terrorism financing, money laundering, and tax evasion are all on the table should the administration chooses to tackle the issue of the rising use of cryptocurrencies officially.

Earlier this week Coinbase lost an appeal and was mandated to share with the IRS data from some 20,000 accounts. The amount of data that the US government’s tax authority will get is much smaller than what it initially demanded, but changes to current legislation could make digital currency assets a scapegoat as the Trump administration’s tax cut effort doesn’t prevent an increase in the deficit.

Yes, I know that as ironic as it may sound, the government might be contemplating to tax the money that it hasn’t printed itself. But then it is only natural to expect it isn’t it?

When Can a Crackdown Materialize?

Bitcoin Futures trading is set to launch next week at the CBOE and a week later via the CME. The financial regulatory authorities are expected to monitor closely how is this market going to function. Any disruptive moves in the market should put a Bitcoin flashing red light higher on the desk of President Trump and his team at the Department of Homeland Security.

The doomsday scenarios that have been gathering speed lately when Bitcoin decimates central bank money are picking up speed. Inevitably they will end up on the US President’s desk one morning, but nobody knows whether it would be a morning too late…

About the Author: Victor Golovtchenko
Victor Golovtchenko
  • 3424 Articles
  • 27 Followers
About the Author: Victor Golovtchenko
Victor Golovtchenko: Key voice in crypto and FX, providing cutting-edge market analysis.
  • 3424 Articles
  • 27 Followers

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