I think you kind of answered your own question.  In the US, Bitcoin is considered an asset as opposed to a currency.

I just read the following Forbes article and it sounds like a "taxable event" has occurred in the US whenever any cryptocoin is traded for any other cryptocoin (even the same type of cryptocoin):

http://www.forbes.com/sites/cameronkeng/2013/12/16/bitcoin-is-not-anonymous-is-always-taxable/

I also didn't like the section on Foreign Bank Account Reporting:

"Bitcoins are everywhere and possibly nowhere.  The problem with bitcoins is that it could be argued by the IRS that it is a value held overseas.  The burden of proof is placed upon the taxpayer (AKA you).   Unless you’re able to prove that your “bitcoins” are within the United States, then you may be required to file FBARs.  The FBAR rules requires any United States person with at least one financial account outside the United States and has over $10,000 dollars in aggregate value overseas at any time to file.  The penalties can be the greater of $100,000 dollars or 50% of the value underreported."

Patel sent me some MSC (no escrow) and I can see the transaction at mastercoin-explorer.com.  Multibit is also showing a very small amount of incoming BTC which I think must be associated with the incoming MSC transfer.  Is that normal?

I see now how to receive MSC.  How is it sent?

That's amazing.  I don't have a very good grasp of what MSC is.  So if someone sends MSC to my BTC wallet, my MSC balance will be stored there in addition to my BTC balance?

Is there an online wallet for MSC or any way to store them besides installing the client?

Thanks, it was a browser issue.  I'm using Justcoin as the gateway and waiting for the deposit to credit there.

Could anyone nudge me in the right direction?  Do I need to provide any more info or do anything else?

I created a wallet on ripple.com but it only tells me "You have to be online to see this screen".  What am I doing wrong?

I'd like to buy .5BTC worth of MSC.  Do I just post that now (like I'm doing) and someone contacts me in order to transfer the BTC and the order book is updated?  Thanks for any guidance.

Which is the best and most reliable exchange to trade BTC for XRP (Ripple)?

---

There are 4 English exchanges listed for buying Ripple:

http://www.xrpga.org/exchangers.html

https://xrptrader.com : English : XRP, BTC
https://justcoin.com : English, Spanish, Norwegian : XRP, BTC, LTC, NOK
https://technocashier.com/ : English, Russian : XRP, WMZ, EUR, RUB, BTC
http://www.ripplewise.com/ : English : XRP, BTC, USD

But xrptrader.com is offline which worries me.  Is there a particularly reliable one in the bunch?

Thanks damnation.

I've read Litecoin has excellent devs.  I'm also starting to wonder about Devcoin's potential in this department.

Where can I buy this coin?

Which coin has the best developers?

As of this morning all of my Cryptsy issues are solved.  Thank you Cryptsy.

As of this morning all of my Cryptsy issues are solved.  Thank you Cryptsy.

Do they show in pending or is there any evidence of their existence in your account?  There isn't with mine.  If that's a common problem right now then I will be patient, but if not then I'm asking for advice as to what to do next.

How can I get mine back?  A withdrawal and a deposit are missing from both my balance and my pendings.

Cryptsy has "disappeared" deposits and withdrawals for me in the last 48 hours.  They don't show as pending or in my balance.  What should I do?

Which exchanges trade in XRP?