IRS says bitcoin can be traced

March 11, 2020

Bitcoin is not anonymous, the IRS emphasized at an invite-only Virtual Currency Summit in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, March 3. In fact, it is quite traceable, which is why two individuals recently found themselves indicted for laundering $100 million of stolen cryptocurrency.

The summit included stakeholders in the cryptocurrency community, including tax software companies, tax practitioners and advocacy groups.

The IRS also addressed confusion about its first tax guidance on cryptocurrency (Notice 2014-21), which includes a property classification. Because the number of cryptocurrencies and types of use have increased considerably, the IRS acknowledged the general treatment may not be suitable for all cyptocurrency instruments.

Find more highlights from the IRS Virtual Currency Summit here.

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