IMPORTANT! - US Senate Bill S.1241 to Criminalize Concealed Ownership of Bitcoin

[bribed]

From the wording it doesnt seem like it only applies to Bitcoins but to all cryptocurrencies. This is already a problem at the moment because people are already going to jail for trading assets with cash.

Can you evaluate a bit what you mean? In what jurisdications are people going to jail because they are trading crypto for fiat? Or do you mean by this, that they trade assets for cash to evade taxation somehow? If so, then I also think that this should be punished. Crypto cant be a law free heaven for all people that want to evade taxation, if it was, it could never grow to mainstream adoption, and this is what we all want to happen I suppose, so we need to make arrangements with the governments, thats for sure.

[thr3]

From the wording it doesnt seem like it only applies to Bitcoins but to all cryptocurrencies. This is already a problem at the moment because people are already going to jail for trading assets with cash.

Can you evaluate a bit what you mean? In what jurisdications are people going to jail because they are trading crypto for fiat? Or do you mean by this, that they trade assets for cash to evade taxation somehow? If so, then I also think that this should be punished. Crypto cant be a law free heaven for all people that want to evade taxation, if it was, it could never grow to mainstream adoption, and this is what we all want to happen I suppose, so we need to make arrangements with the governments, thats for sure.

https://cryptostreet.co/man-from-michigan-to-serve-1-year-in-prison-for-trading-bitcoins/

According to tax laws in the US, cryptocurrencies are assets. Selling them or trading them at a profit requires a tax declaration of some kind - capital gains tax (and vice versa to declare a loss). The case above was from a different regulatory body called FinCen which regulates financial transactions. A lot of people in the space are already on the wrong side of the law at the moment but you cant really blame them for it.

I agree that crypto should not be used for evading taxes as I am a firm believer that everyone needs to pay their fair share of tax. However, more regulations in the space can be bad for growth --- as I believe in a free market, the market should self-regulate the good from the bad.

[Silberman]

What does "Concealed ownership of Bitcoin" even mean? That doesn't even make sense. Like, it is perfectly legal to own cash and hold it in your house so why not be able to own Bitcoin and hold it without reporting to someone? That is abdsolutely  brutal and authorotarian. People whould not worry about just keeping their Bitcoin to themselves and not reporting everything to the government.

That is just their way of criminalizing holding bitcoin without actually doing that, as you say you can hold cash or even gold without having to report it but when it comes to bitcoin they want to know exactly how much you are holding, it is obvious this is a law against bitcoin holders, however at the end like most laws is not going to work since many holders are simply not going to comply.

[hozerdev]

https://cryptostreet.co/man-from-michigan-to-serve-1-year-in-prison-for-trading-bitcoins/

According to tax laws in the US, cryptocurrencies are assets. Selling them or trading them at a profit requires a tax declaration of some kind - capital gains tax (and vice versa to declare a loss). The case above was from a different regulatory body called FinCen which regulates financial transactions. A lot of people in the space are already on the wrong side of the law at the moment but you cant really blame them for it.

I agree that crypto should not be used for evading taxes as I am a firm believer that everyone needs to pay their fair share of tax. However, more regulations in the space can be bad for growth --- as I believe in a free market, the market should self-regulate the good from the bad.

This is really bad.
He violated Title 18, United States Code, Section 1960. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1960
Not sure though if the term the "unlicensed money transmitting business" can be applied to individual money transfers. Most likely it because hey used the business bank account of corporation he owned to transfer money. But any comments from a legal professional would be appreciated.

[marky89]

That is just their way of criminalizing holding bitcoin without actually doing that, as you say you can hold cash or even gold without having to report it but when it comes to bitcoin they want to know exactly how much you are holding

As written, the bill doesn't entail that. I don't see anything that says cryptocurrency holdings must be declared. Rather, they seem to be targeting Bitcoin/cryptocurrency services. The expansion of the definition of "financial institution" would make exchanges, brokers, tumblers and perhaps even payment processors (Bitpay/Shapeshift) implement stiff AML/KYC protocols when interfacing with US customers. If passed, I think a lot of services will begin prohibiting US customers.

At that point, things get more complicated for US residents. The bill essentially makes it unlawful for US residents to misrepresent or conceal their identity to these services. For example, I think that using fake personal information on no-KYC or low-KYC exchanges will become illegal if this bill is passed. That doesn't mean you need to declare crypto holdings, but it provides a deterrent to tax evasion when taking profits.

[kier010]

because bitcoin is decentralized it had been used in illegal activities so maybe the government is to prevent this people from doing illegal. or it is just government want to tax this bitcoin holder.

[drshade1]

2018 is going to be a busy year, just make sure you're prepared and safe