The above, and

-You can withdraw your crypto into cold storage away from control of third parties and governments, or transfer it to someone else, or purchase something with it.

-But if you do the above or trade on an overseas crypto exchange you have the risk of total loss from a mistake or a hacker.

-Crypto cannot suddenly dillute shares or reverse split. You have a guaranteed share structure.

-Far less news and more ability to apply pure technical analysis to trades.

-Generally more volatility in crypto plays. Crypto gives you the strength of a mid cap stock with the volatility of a penny stock. Most stocks you invest hoping to get 500% over 20 years. In a well timed crypto play you can hope to get that 500% over 20 weeks or even 20 days. (In some altcoins ive seen it in 20 hours)

-Somewhat more fraud in crypto. Lots of overseas encrypted fraud, shady exchanges, and little action from authorities to hold those accountable.

-Decentralized exchange markets you can attempt to arbitrage.

Sorry. The question is not "do you pay taxes" . Its do you specifically identify Bitmex in your return, or is it just lumped in with anonymous "bitcoin trading gains"? Also do you specifically list Bitmex in the FBAR if the account balance was over $10K equivalent?

My concern is that the feds are launching investigations into futures brokers (for all kinds of assets) that arent regulated with the US. A trader who lists one of these brokers in their federal documents automatically triggers an inquiry where they are asked to assist in gathering all kinds of details for the government investigation. Normally the trader isnt in trouble - its the exchange. But Im not sure if that still applies if you had to explain that they didnt really accept you but you defrauded and hacked your way in. My concern is not that bitmex will want to prosecute but that this automatic investigation by the US will be triggered by tax returns or otherwise.

Im aware of this. What I'm asking if that if any of the thousands of traders who have already done this receive in inquiry from the US government, if they could end up being charged with a crime. There was a case Craigslist vs 3taps where dodging a geoblock was ruled as hacking.

Also, are you transparent with identifying Bitmex in your tax returns?

Thousands of US traders use VPN and false information to trade on Bitmex. Are they all committing crimes? Im aware that a regulatory violation is normally the exchanges fault. But using the VPN to dodge geoblocking could be considered a form of hacking and proving false information could be fraud. Im not talking about bitmex finding out and liquidating your account. Im talking about the us government finding out and charging you with a crime with prison time. How do you file your taxes and your fbars? Having these instutions in your return can trigger an inquiry. Are you worried about being caught? For a moment lets assume we are not all career criminals who dont pay taxes or commit fraud. What do you think would be the worst case scenario of a penalty if you are somehow caught trading at bitmex and have to explain that you were using a vpn?