The IRS has published guidance stating that pre-2018 swaps among Bitcoin, Ether, and Litecoin are not eligible for 1031 tax-free exchange treatment. This means that investors who made swaps among these three cryptocurrencies before 2018 are liable for income tax on the gains realized. This guidance only applies to swaps before 2018, because the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 eliminated § 1031 tax-free exchange treatment for personal property beginning after 2017, so that all cryptocurrency…

On May 20, 2021, the Treasury Department released a report that proposes new reporting requirements for transactions, including cryptocurrency transactions. Under the proposed plan, financial institutions, payment settlement entities, and digital asset exchanges and custodians would be required to report gross inflows and outflows that exceed a de minimis threshold on all business and personal accounts. Click here to read the full GT Alert.…

Recent John Doe summonses show the IRS is expanding its use of those summonses to aggressively investigate potential tax evasion. Within the past week, the IRS has received authorization to use a John Doe summons to request information from a cryptocurrency exchange. The government has also filed petitions in federal court seeking authorization to allow the IRS to serve John Doe summonses on MoneyGram Payment Systems, Inc. and other entities that may have information regarding…

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which can be used as a medium for art, music, video clips, trading cards, and other collectibles have recently become hot investments. Although no state tax agency has specifically announced that NFTs are subject to sales and use tax yet, some states already have the statutory framework in place to impose their sales tax on NFTs. Furthermore, selling NFTs to a buyer in a different state could result in a state income…

On Wednesday, April 7 from 12-1:30 p.m. EDT, please join Greenberg Traurig, the Hon. E. David Burt, JP, MP, Premier of Bermuda, the Chamber of Digital Commerce, and the Bermuda Monetary Authority for an engaging series of discussions on how Bermuda is fast-tracking innovation, policy, and regulation for digital assets. The program will include: Introduction by the Chamber of Digital Commerce Fireside chat with the Hon. E. David Burt, JP, MP, Premier of Bermuda Overview…

On Feb. 18, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a $507,375 settlement with BitPay, Inc., an Atlanta-based payment processing company that enables merchants to accept digital currency, for more than 2,100 apparent violations of U.S. economic sanctions. The settlement serves as a timely reminder to all companies engaged in digital currency transactions – whether administrators, exchangers, or technology companies and other business that accept digital currency –…

.@GT_Law's Blockchain & Digital Assets Group highlights 10 trends to expect in 2021, read them here: https://t.co/vQ6bHSctAG #blockchain #2021trends pic.twitter.com/58jkAzb0rK — GreenbergTraurig LLP (@GT_Law) January 14, 2021 Read the full article here.…