I've just watched this video:
BTC007: Bitcoin Disrupting Payment Clearing Houses w/ Jack MallersIn the interview, Jack Mallers talks about various aspects of the lighting network but I want to focus on one:
According to him, with the lighting network you will be able to pay in any store either directly with your bitcoin, if the store implements the lightning network, or by converting instantly to cash with a visa if it does not accept it. The problem is that, according to him, because of recent regulations in the US, any store billing more than $3k a day will have to implement KYC as well.
He says that his company has an answer or solution in mind but has not wanted to disclose it yet.
If you pay for a coffee with a visa, having instantly converted your bitcoin to dollars, in theory you could be charged for capital gains. Let's say you bought the bitcoin at $30k and when you pay it's $40k. The IRS could tax you for the capital gain in proportion to the amount. If you pay with bitcoin the same. I understand that, even if you don't actually convert it to fiat, the state will make you pay fees in an equivalent manner.
This can be a big mess if you have to pay capital gains for every small payment.
I have searched if there were any threads opened about this but have not found anything.
If you pay at a small store that sells less than $3k a day you will maintain privacy, at least at first, but it seems that to pay at Starbuck, McDonald's etc. will not be so.