I exchanged bitcoins for shares of GBTC (Grayscale Bitcoin Trust). I have not sold the shares of GBTC yet. I'm trying to find an IRS publication, webpage or memorandum that says whether or not the exchange of BTC for shares of GBTC was a taxable event. I'm aware that when I sell the shares of GBTC, that will be a taxable event.

The total market cap of cryptos is pretty high. Are there any crypto billionaires on the Forbes list of richest people?

Most countries like to have control over the money used within their borders. Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies challenge this authority. What Would Happen If Bitcoin Were Declared Illegal in the USA?

If Bitcoin were considered contraband would its black market value increase like some illegal drugs or would the value fall? What economic principals would be at work in this scenario and what type of logical arguments make sense?

Bitcoin certainly has the network effect in that it's the most widely used cryptocurrency now. But in terms of privacy some of the alt coins may be a better choice, Monero, Dash, Z Cash to name a few. I'm looking for objective information like this

https://moneroforcash.com/monero-vs-dash-vs-zcash-vs-bitcoinmixers.php

From a privacy standpoint, it looks like Monero is better than Dash or ZCash. Any objective info that would counter this viewpoint?

The itBit.com website says

"All US traders will also receive year-end 1099 forms for tax reporting."

Does anybody know what actions will trigger a 1099 form? I know with a normal brokerage account a 1099 is generated only if you sell any securities (buys don't count) or if you have $10 or more in interest a 1099-int will be generated or $10 or more in dividends a 1099-div will be generated. The info on the 1099 is what is reported to the IRS.

If you deposit USD to itBit, buy BTC and withdraw the BTC will that generate a 1099?

Qual é o melhor bolsa de bitcoin no Brasil? Por que?

I know MintPal has had some problems migrating to version 2 of their website. What is the status of the site? Which coins are having trouble with transfers and trading?

Which alt coins have constant number of new coins per block? By having a constant number of new coins per block, the percentage increase in the coin supply per unit of time will decrease over time. If the coin continues to have PoW miners, the rate of increase will asymptote toward 0%. Would this constant block reward be a better model than the bitcoin model (gradually reducing reward plus transfer fees)?

Anonymity is one feature that alt coins could have the would distinguish them from Bitcoin. Several alt coins are looking to add anonymity. At what stage is anonymity in these alt coins? Which alt coin has the best anonymity implementation and why?

Which bank does CoinBase use to do ACH transfers with clients? As the US banks have a history of shutting down bank accounts of Bitcoin related businesses, I wonder how CoinBase has been able to avoid the same fate. Any ideas?

Is there an exchange or other places that trades Bitcoin, BTC, for Japanese Yen, JPY ?

Any centralized system of exchange of assets will eventually be shut down by governments. E-gold is a perfect example. Won't more recent examples such as Ripple eventually be shut down as well?

What makes a good development team for a crypto currency? How would you rank the development teams of the various crypto currencies?

From an economic standpoint, which factors make one cryptocurrency worth more than another?

1) current number of coins
2) maximum number of coins
3) rate of growth in the supply of coins
4) how many people/businesses accept it as a form of payment
5) total number of users
6) technical aspects of the protocol
7) number of exchanges that allow conversion to other cryptos or fiat currencies

Discuss.

I bought a New Nexus 7 2nd Generation tablet last week but have decided to sell it. It's barely used, in original box. Price is 2.47 BTC plus shipping. I will ship anyplace that UPS offers service. Shipping cost is whatever UPS charges. You will be responsible for any customs fees.

Specifications, see
http://www.google.com/nexus/7/


    Screen
        7.02" 1920x1200 HD display (323 ppi)
        1080p HD IPS
        Scratch resistant Corning® glass
    Cameras
        1.2MP front facing, fixed focus
        5MP rear facing, auto focus
    Dimensions
        114 x 200 x 8.65 mm
        0.64lbs (290g) Wi-Fi, 0.64lbs (290g) LTE
    Battery
        3950 mAh
        Up to 9 hours active use
        Wireless charging built-in (Qi compatible)
    Audio
        Stereo speakers
        Surround sound, powered by Fraunhofer
    Processing
        CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro, 1.5GHz
        GPU: Adreno 320, 400MHz
    Wireless
        Dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4G/5G) 802.11 a/b/g/n
        NFC (Android Beam)
        Bluetooth 4.0
     Memory
        16GB internal storage
        2GB RAM
    Ports & Connectors
        microUSB
        SlimPort™ enabled
        3.5mm audio
        Microphone
        Power and Volume buttons
    Sensors
        GPS
        Gyroscope
        Accelerometer
        Compass
        Ambient Light

With BTC there is no BTC-reward for those running the client. Would it make sense to have an alt-crypto that has a random lottery for a small amount of coin to be sent to one of the clients that is running when the next block is found? Wouldn't this encourage people to run the client separately from mining and help the network?

What makes one crypto-currency worth more than another?

1) current number of coins
2) maximum number of coins
3) number of people using
4) number and size of merchants accepting for payment
5) active development team of the protocol and wallet software
6) number of exchanges and fiat currencies supported

What else would you say makes one crypto-currency worth more than another?

Are there any good ways to profit in USD terms if BTC/USD goes down?

I trade BTC/USD at both BitFloor and MtGox but I prefer to trade at BitFloor. Why?

1) It's a lot cheaper. BitFloor takes 0.3% of each trade as a fee. Mt Gox takes between 0.5% and 1.2% of each trade. That's a big difference. Depending on your style of trading the difference can be even more. For example, if you are a liquidity provider Mt Gox charges you between 0.25% and 0.6% see
https://mtgox.com/fee-schedule
compared to BitFloor who PAYS YOU 0.1% see
https://bitfloor.com/docs/
This is a huge.

2) It's faster and cheaper to deposit and withdraw USD at BitFloor. I use Capital One 360 P2P to deposit USD to BitFloor. P2P is free and faster than Dwolla which Mt Gox uses. For USD withdrawals BitFloor offers free withdrawals to my checking account via ACH. Again faster and cheaper than Dwolla.

Join me at BitFloor and let's keep more of our BTC and USD instead of giving it to Mt Gox.

Someone sold 7 BTC at $40 on BitFloor. See the high at
http://www.bitcoincharts.com/markets/bitfloorUSD.html

I've been buying some BTC on BitFloor and there haven't been many BTC offered for sale. But if more sales start to happen at $40, I might have to quit buying and start selling.