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Web3 Encyclopedia
  • Welcome aboard!
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  • 😀Evolution from Web 1.0 to Web 3.0
    • Web 1.0 Web 2.0 Web 3.0
    • Key Features
    • Current Limitations
    • Future of Web 3.0
    • Learn: What Is Web3?
    • Learn: Will Every Brand Have a Web3 Strategy?
    • Learn: Big Ideas in 2023
    • Learn: The Web3 Paradox: Why Scaling Usage Alone Won't Lead to Mass Adoption?
    • Learn: Is Web3 A Marketing Buzz or Tech Revolution?
    • Learn: What is the relationship between blockchain and Web3?
    • Learn:Empowering Women in Web 3.0: The Role and Contributions of Women in Blockchain, DeFi, and dApp
    • Learn: Web 3.0 and the Future of E-Commerce
    • Learn: 12 ways ecosystem projects can attract more developers
    • Learn: How Web3 is Impacting Education?
    • Learn: Web3 And The Future Of Digital Advertising
    • Learn: Web3’s impact on personalization, trust and engagement
    • Learn: Web3-Powered Identity Management -- Unlocking the Benefits of Decentralization
    • Learn: Why Web2 companies fail in Web3 while others made it?
    • Learn: To Identify or Not in a Web3 World?
    • 🤫[Insider Series] McKinsey x Web3
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 💲Blockchain Fundamentals
    • Why is Blockchain So Popular?
    • Introduction to Blockchain
    • Blockchain Misconceptions
    • Blockchain vs Bitcoin, Database, Cloud
    • Consensus Mechanism
    • Public and Private Keys
    • Hash Functions and Cryptography
    • Sharding
    • Types of Blockchains: PoW, PoS and Private
    • Understanding Cryptocurrency
    • Coins vs Tokens
    • Blockchain Trilemma
    • Legality
    • Learn : Google’s Cloud Based Blockchain Node Service
    • Learn: How Blockchain, Digital assets, and Web3 Unlock Financial Inclusion Globally
    • Learn: Will Chinese-Made Crypto Soar Higher?
    • Learn: What Does MiCA Mean for Crypto in Europe?
    • Learn: Unraveling the Intricacies of Blockchain Forensics and Asset Tracking
    • Learn: Promising blockchain use cases in healthcare industry
    • Learn: The Role of Blockchain in Authenticating and Provenance Art
    • Learn: Blockchain-Based Digital Identity: Benefits, Risks, and Implementation Challenges
    • Learn: The Future of Energy Supply Chains
    • Learn: Revolutionizing smart contracts and cryptocurrency
    • Learn: Nigeria goes blockchain
    • Learn: A Game Changer for Online Gaming?
    • Learn: Is blockchain technology ready for high-storage applications?
    • Learn: Will Blockchain Technology Mark a Turning Point in Fraud Prevention?
    • Learn: Why ZK-rollups need data availability?
    • Learn: How will generative AI disrupt blockchain?
    • Learn: A New Blockchain for Generative AI?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 🏟️Web3 Utilities
    • Decentralized Applications (dApps)
    • Cross-chain Bridges
    • DAO
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Learn: Is Community-building Essential for Web3 Startups?
    • Learn: ‘Decentralization Theater’
    • Learn: Crypto and AI- A yay or nay combination?
    • Learn: Dissecting the DAO
    • Learn: What is motivating Lido DAO to rise?
    • Learn: How to Turn Your Community Into a DAO?
    • Learn: The Key to Decentralized Decision Making
    • Learn: How Web 3.0 can disrupt the supply chain industry?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 🪙Bitcoin
    • What is Bitcoin
    • Bitcoin's Blockchain Technology
    • UTXO Model and Transaction Fees
    • Bitcoin Mining and Mempool
    • Learn: What is bitcoin mining?
    • What are Hard Forks and Soft Forks
    • What is SegWit and the Lightning Network
    • Bitcoin Ecosystem
    • Can Bitcoin be Destroyed? Game Theory and Network Attacks
    • Learn: Crypto token supplies explained
    • Learn: What is crypto tax-loss harvesting, and how does it work?
    • Learn: Can Crypto Go Green? How to Invest in Eco-Friendly Cryptocurrencies
    • Learn: Why Did FTX Collapse? Here’s What to Know.
    • Learn: How Sam Bankman-Fried swindled $8 billion in customer money?
    • Learn: How much is Bitcoin worth today?
    • Learn: The Costs of Running a Bitcoin Node In Nigeria
    • Learn: Has 2022 Left Any Crypto Positives?
    • Learn: How Crypto Exchanges Can Be Free of Risk?
    • Learn: Greed, Lies and FTX: Is Crypto a Force for Good or Evil?
    • Learn: Is Crypto a Cultural Movement?
    • Learn: What are the consequences of crypto’s ongoing regulatory process?
    • Learn: Beyond the Crash and Embracing NFTs?
    • Learn: Understanding crypto bag holders and their mindset
    • Learn: Inscriptions: Just A Fad, Or A Real Threat To Bitcoin Becoming Decentralized Money?
    • Learn: How Bitcoin Ordinals Can Change the Future Of Mining?
    • Learn: What is a supernet?
    • Learn: Bitcoin Miners Celebrate 10 Years Since First ASIC, What Changed Since Then?
    • Learn: Bill Vs. CBDC – Why This US Congressman Wants To Block The Fed From Issuing A Digital Dollar?
    • Learn: Why Bitcoin Will Blow People’s Minds In 2025?
    • Learn: How the Howey Test Sheds Light on Cryptocurrency's Regulatory Gray Area
    • Learn: Cryptocurrency vs AI: A Complex Debate
    • Learn: Where the U.S. Government Went Wrong in Regulating Crypto?
    • Learn: The Nostr Privacy Paradox
    • Learn: Do algorithmic stablecoins have a future as centralized coins are under scrutiny?
    • Learn: Is Bitcoin Set To Revolutionize The Financial World With Its Superior Purchasing Power?
    • Learn: What is Shibarium, and what does it mean for Shiba Inu?
    • Learn: What is a crypto dusting attack?
    • Learn: Is the Adoption of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) the Future?
    • Learn: How Artificial Intelligence Could Revolutionize Crypto?
    • Learn: What’s next for EU’s crypto industry as European Parliament passes MiCA?
    • Learn: Why the EU Has MiCA and the U.S. Has Securities Law Confusion?
    • Learn: Six New Projects Looking to Mitigate Bitcoin Mining’s Energy Footprint
    • Learn: Who on Crypto Twitter chose not to pay for a blue checkmark?
    • Learn: What is the wash-sale rule in Crypto?
    • Learn: What is Pepecoin and can it flip memecoins Dogecoin and Shiba Inu?
    • Learn: Can you recover stolen Bitcoin from crypto scams?
    • Learn: What the ‘anti-mining bill’ means for the crypto industry in Texas?
    • Learn: Does the US have a crypto ‘tax loophole’ problem?
    • Learn: How users can stay protected?
    • Learn: How Crypto Revolutionize Cheaper and Faster Transactions?
    • Learn: Can NFTs and CFDs be BFFs?
    • Learn: A PR expert’s tips for memecoin projects
    • Learn: Why politicians aren't convinced about the Digital Euro?
    • Learn: How A 90-Year Old TA Theory Predicted The Sudden Bitcoin Boom?
    • Learn: Social Trading Platforms and CFDs: A New Paradigm in Investment
    • Learn: How could the Chinese economic crisis impact Bitcoin and crypto?
    • Learn: How do they compare: Bitcoin IRA vs. traditional IRA?
    • Learn: Why Tokenized Assets Are Safer During a Banking Crisis?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 🛢️Ethereum
    • Bitcoin vs Ethereum
    • What can Ethereum do?
    • What is Ether (ETH)?
    • What's Unique About ETH?
    • What are Smart Contracts?
    • Energy Consumption?
    • Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)
    • Pros & Cons of Smart Contracts
    • Decentralized Applications (dApps)
    • Ethereum Token Standards (ERC-20, ERC-721 and ERC-1155)
    • Evolution of Ethereum
    • How to Get Your First Ethereum
    • Learn: Next Ethereum Upgrade — Shanghai Upgrade
    • Learn: Tipping Scale for Crypto Adoption: Usability vs. Accessibility
    • Learn: Major Publicly Traded U.S. Bitcoin Miner Files For Chapter 11 – Impact On The Market?
    • Learn: 5 altcoin projects that made a real difference in 2022
    • Learn: How Tether Can Be a More Stable Stablecoin?
    • Learn: Are the Ethereum Killers Still Deadly?
    • Learn: What Ethereum Tech Trends Are Weathering the Bear Market?
    • Learn: How Ethereum’s token burns are making it a deflationary cryptocurrency?
    • Learn: A few things to know about Ethereum's Shanghai Upgrade
    • Learn: The Role of Enterprise Ethereum
    • Learn: Understanding Layer 2 Scaling Solutions for the Ethereum Network
    • Learn: The Battle of Giants: Bitcoin vs Ethereum
    • Learn: Cryptography, Smart Contracts and Distributed Networks
    • Learn: The Memecoin Grift and How It Threatens Ethereum Culture
    • Learn: What Is Ethereum’s ‘Data Availability' Problem, and Why Does It Matter?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 👛Wallet
    • What is a Blockchain Wallet?
    • Hardware / Software Wallet
    • How to Get Your First Cryptocurrency
    • Setting up Metamask Wallet
    • Learn: How to connect the Avalanche network to MetaMask?
    • Learn: How to pass on your crypto when you die?
    • Learn: What are hierarchical deterministic (HD) crypto wallets?
    • Learn: Pros and Cons of Digital Wallets
    • Learn : How Web 3.0 Wallets Are Redefining Digital Asset Security?
    • Learn: Open source: Buzzword or real security for crypto wallets?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 🌕New & Rising Protocols
    • Binance
    • NEAR
    • Solana
    • Fantom
    • Polygon
    • Cardano
    • Polkadot
    • Cosmos
    • Harmony
    • Cronos
    • Optimism
    • Terra
    • Who Will Win the L1 Wars?
    • Learn: New Layer 1 Blockchains Are Expanding the DeFi Ecosystem But No Eth Killers Yet
    • Learn: Is an Increased Focus on Layer-2 Scaling and ZK Technology Justified?
    • Learn: What Are the Stakes in the SEC vs. Ripple Case?
    • Learn: What is The Graph, and how does it work?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 📈Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
    • CEX vs DEX
    • CeFi vs DeFi
    • Algorithmic Stablecoins
    • Airdrop
    • Liquidity Pool
    • Impermanent Loss
    • Swapping
    • Wrapped Token
    • Arbitrage Opportunities
    • Staking
    • Yield Farming
    • Total Value Locked (TVL)
    • Gas Fees
    • Lending & Borrowing
    • Useful Tools
    • Activity: Uniswap & Pancake Swap
    • Learn: Automated Market Makers (AMMs) in DeFi
    • Learn: Crypto Moving towards ESG: What Is Regenerative Finance (ReFi)
    • Learn: What Is dYdX? Understanding the Decentralized Crypto Exchange
    • Learn: It's A Wrap - DeFi in 2022
    • Learn: Why DeFi should expect more hacks this year?
    • Learn: The Security Challenges of DeFi
    • Learn: The Promising Future of Decentralized Social Media on Web 3.0
    • Learn: Can CBDCs, Tokenized Deposits, Stablecoins and DeFi Coexist?
    • Learn: The Increasing Popularity of DeFi and Its Potential to Disrupt Traditional Finance
    • Learn: The future of DeFi is ReFi
    • Learn: DeFi aggregation
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 🙈Non-Fungible Token (NFT)
    • What are NFTs?
    • Case Study
    • Storage
    • Who are the Players?
    • NFT Marketplace
    • NFT Useful Resources
    • Activity: Mint Your Own NFT
    • Learn: How You Can Prevent Hackers From Stealing Your NFTs?
    • Learn: What Is an NFT Floor Price?
    • Learn: Should Bored Ape buyers be legally entitled to refunds?
    • Learn: China’s view of NFTs different from rest of the world’s
    • Learn: NFTs IRL: How Digital Collectibles Are Forging Offline Experiences
    • Learn: How NFT Brands Can Cut Through The Noise
    • Learn: How Web3 disrupts the music sector?
    • Learn: Unlockable content in NFTs
    • Learn: Why Meta Matters in NFTs?
    • Learn: Should NFT Marketplaces Become Centralized?
    • Learn: Hermès vs. MetaBirkins: The NFT Case That Could Have Major Trademark and Artistic Consequence
    • Learn: What are phygital NFTs, and how do they work?
    • Learn: What is NFT ticketing and how does it work?
    • Learn: Why Solana NFT marketplace is seeing less active users?
    • Learn: NFTs and Intellectual Property
    • Learn: How AI Is Changing Artistic Creation and Challenging IP Laws?
    • Learn: The Future of NFTs: Exploring Dynamic NFTs and Their Versatile Use Cases
    • Learn: NFTs in the event and ticketing industry
    • Learn: What is NFT rarity, and how to calculate it?
    • Learn: What happens to your NFTs when you die?
    • Learn: Dogecoin-Like Spike in Milady NFTs After Elon Musk’s Tweet, But Will It Last?
    • Learn: What are NFT royalties, and how do they work?
    • Learn: How developers aim to store crypto inside NFTs?
    • Learn: Generative Art NFTs: What Are They & Why Are They So Popular?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 💗Metaverse
    • What is the Metaverse?
    • Metaverse Economy
    • Metaverse Companies
    • GameFi
    • Learn: Are We in the Metaverse Yet?
    • Learn: Can the Metaverse exist without blockchain?
    • Learn: Can the Metaverse Facilitate Sustainable Growth of Defi Systems?
    • Learn: What is the role of biometrics in the metaverse?
    • Learn: Can metaverse be the future court?
    • Learn: Metaverse Fashion Is on the Rise, but for Whom?
    • Learn: Sustainability in the Metaverse: Challenges and Opportunities
    • Learn: How To Build A Responsible Metaverse?
    • Learn: What is a VTuber, and how do you become one?
    • Learn: How proof-of-identity provides human experiences?
    • Learn: The “Metaverse” Next Frontier for Business: Impact And Challenges
    • Learn: The 5 Biggest Misconceptions About The Metaverse
    • Learn: Why culture and ownership are critical to the metaverse?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 👾Career in Web3 (coming soon)
    • Developers
    • Moderators
    • Community Managers
    • UI/ UX Designers
    • Digital Fashion Designers
  • 🌱Sustainability (Coming Soon)
    • Industry Effort
    • Co-author
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  • Is tax-loss harvesting widely used by U.S. crypto investors?
  • Traders and cheaters
  • Transparent regulations
  1. Bitcoin

Learn: Does the US have a crypto ‘tax loophole’ problem?

The Biden administration wanted to nix a “special tax subsidy for cryptocurrency,” but it wasn’t in the May 28 debt ceiling bill. Another narrow escape?

PreviousLearn: What the ‘anti-mining bill’ means for the crypto industry in Texas?NextLearn: How users can stay protected?

Last updated 1 year ago

The crypto sector appears to have dodged another bullet. At the time of publication, the United States has reached a political agreement to raise its debt ceiling, avoiding a calamitous default on its obligations, and this resolution probably won’t include any new taxes on cryptocurrencies.

But that doesn’t mean the question of U.S. crypto taxation is settled. The debate is likely to continue and may be transformed into something more partisan than previously assumed.

To recap: On May 21, at the Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, U.S. President Joseph Biden a debt-ceiling deal with Republican lawmakers that would protect crypto traders. The protection the president was tax-loss harvesting, a tax minimization strategy legal in the U.S., but viewed by many as a loophole.

However, it was the phrasing of the president’s remarks as much as their content that drew attention. Biden :

“And I’m not going to agree to a deal that protects wealthy tax cheats and crypto traders while putting food assistance at risk for nearly a hundred — excuse me — nearly 1 million Americans.”

It’s not every day that a U.S. president speaks out about cryptocurrencies — let alone from a high-level international conclave — so Biden’s choice of words may be worth examining. He seemed to equate “crypto traders” with “wealthy tax cheats.” If so, it might suggest that crypto support may now be breaking more along Democrat/Republican lines than was earlier presumed.

This also raises some questions: Is tax-loss harvesting with cryptocurrencies a loophole in the U.S. tax system that should be closed? Would investors or traders even miss it if it were eliminated?

On a more political level, was it surprising to hear a U.S. president grouping “crypto traders” with “wealthy tax cheats” in a single phrase? One has heard many claims recently that in the U.S., with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle favoring crypto reform legislation.

Is tax-loss harvesting widely used by U.S. crypto investors?

“Tax-loss harvesting is an important tool for cryptocurrency investors for two key reasons,” Nathan Goldman, associate professor at North Carolina State University’s Poole College of Management, told Cointelegraph.

First, cryptocurrencies’ prices are more volatile than traditional securities, like equities. For example, General Electric’s stock traded at $74 at the end of 2021 and $66 at the end of 2022. During the same period, Bitcoin tumbled from around $47,000 to nearly $16,000. Goldman noted:

“Given the dramatic ups and downs, there is ample opportunity for investors to sell during the down periods, creating a tax loss that can be used to offset another gain — also known as tax-loss harvesting.”

The second reason for the strategy’s popularity with crypto investors is that it isn’t subject to wash sale rules. With most securities, “tax-loss harvesting carries the penalty that the taxpayer cannot repurchase the security for 30 days — often referred to as ‘wash sale rules,’” explained Goldman. During that time, the stock might increase in value, which the investor would not recognize. “However, cryptocurrency does not have those rules.”

“This rule — or lack thereof — has a lot of important tax considerations, and, thus, many investors are likely making use of it,” said Goldman.

“It is definitely an issue, as there is some empirical evidence that crypto investors in this strategy,” Omri Marian, professor at the University of California Irvine School of Law, told Cointelegraph. “The President’s 2024 budget proposal that closing this loophole will bring in about $24 billion over 10 years, which is not insignificant.”

to a March 2023 White House statement explaining the Administration’s 2024 budget proposal:

“The Budget saves $24 billion by eliminating a special tax subsidy for crypto currency and certain other transactions. Right now, crypto investors aren’t subject to the same rules of the road that investors in stocks or other securities have to follow, allowing them to report excessive losses. [...] The Budget eliminates this tax subsidy for crypto currencies by modernizing the tax code’s anti-abuse rules to apply to crypto assets just like they apply to stocks and other securities.”

However, not everyone agrees that tax loss harvesting is rampant or will add much to government coffers if the “loophole” is closed. “Crypto not being subject to the wash sale rule is a loophole in the system,” Shehan Chandrasekera, head of tax strategy at CoinTracker, told Cointelegraph. “That said, I don’t think the government is losing billions of dollars from that. This is because crypto is still a small segment of the economy.”

“From a pure volume perspective, I wouldn’t think it’s massive,” Markus Veith, digital asset practice leader at Grant Thornton, told Cointelegraph, referencing that amount being lost in foregone taxes. Crypto is not yet that impactful to the domestic and global financial services industry. Meanwhile, crypto prices are recovering, “which also begs the question of how many losses are still out there,” said Veith.

Traders and cheaters

“Personally, I would not call someone who engages in legal tax planning a ‘tax cheat,’ even if I do not like their behavior,” said Marian.

Then, too, maybe Biden’s remarks were taken out of context. He may have been talking about two “loopholes” being closed. One was the wash sale rule for crypto, “and the other is like-kind exchanges for real estate investors,” said Goldman, though both align with wealthy investors.

“Those comments [i.e., Biden’s] appear to be more related to the real estate investors. If anything, I am more taken aback by him calling them ‘tax cheats,’” he added.

An accounting firm executive who preferred to remain anonymous told Cointelegraph that he would have thought the U.S. president had more important issues on his plate than crypto wash rules. This was a G7 meeting, though, and on May 16, the European Council had just adopted the world’s first comprehensive set of rules for crypto assets, known as the Markets in Crypto-assets regulations or MiCA. Maybe “that came up in conversation,” and then the discussion shifted to the debt ceiling with crypto still on the president’s mind, the source speculated.

Maybe the U.S. president has a point, however. Perhaps tax-loss harvesting with crypto is an abuse of the U.S. tax system and should be banned.

“It is indeed a problem, in my opinion,” said University of California’s Marian, even if wash trading is currently legal in the U.S. “I don’t see why crypto should have a favorable tax treatment over other investment assets.”

On the other hand, tax loss harvesting and the like didn’t begin with crypto. “Tax planning strategies are much older than the crypto industry, and triggering tax losses to offset income is absolutely something that has been there for a long time,” JJ Schneider, tax reporting and advisory partner at Grant Thornton, told Cointelegraph.

The whole issue could remain problematic until the U.S. determines the actual nature of cryptocurrencies, suggested Goldman:

“The U.S. government struggles with defining what cryptocurrency is. The IRS [Internal Revenue Service] treats it like a capital asset. Other entities treat it like a currency, while others treat it like it’s a security.”

If all entities were to treat cryptocurrency like a currency, “then it may make more sense to follow currency’s rules for wash-sales,” continued Goldman. “However, if it were to go by way of the IRS, then wash sales become potentially problematic.”

The bottom line: One must first define the nature of cryptocurrencies before gauging if their holders are profiting from tax loopholes.

Transparent regulations

So is more regulatory clarity needed in the U.S., especially if the country hopes to attract institutional investors whose participation might make cryptocurrencies less volatile?

“There’s a big hope that institutional adoption is moving forward,” said Grant Thornton’s Veith. “But with what the industry perceives as lack of clarity, I don’t see that necessarily going up.”

“More guidance is needed,” added Goldman, and cryptocurrencies need to be defined and treated similarly across all financial sectors like taxes, financial reporting, etc.

Marian agreed, but only up to a point. “I do believe there are important areas in which guidance on crypto taxation is needed.” But the claims of uncertainty and lack of guidance are exaggerated, in his view. Marian added:

“For most transactions that most taxpayers engage in, there are relatively clear answers in the law. People simply do not like these answers.”

Nor is the U.S. necessarily the only country that continues to struggle with crypto and taxes. “I think all countries are in the process of figuring out the right tax framework for digital assets,” CoinTracker’s Chandrasekera stated.

Wasn’t it surprising that the U.S. president publicly “crypto traders” with “wealthy tax cheats” in a single sentence — and at a meeting of G7 leaders, no less?

The final debt ceiling legislation resulting from weeks of negotiations on May 28 as the ‘‘Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023’’ still needs to pass both houses of Congress. But there is no mention at all in the nearly 100-page document of “cryptocurrencies,” “wash rules,” Bitcoin mining or anything remotely crypto-related.

“Yes, one of the victories is blocking proposed taxes,” Republican Representative Warren Davidson of Ohio. Crypto lives to fight another day.

This article first appeared in Cointelegraph, written by

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