If capital gains go to 0%, does crypto change completely?

[CryptoDaniel1]

Saw the news about the possible 0% capital gains idea for crypto in the US.

Trying to imagine what that actually means in practice.
Not price, I mean behavior.

For years the biggest pressure on holders was simple:
every sell = taxable event.

If that disappears, the whole game changes.
Less forced selling, more long holding, maybe even people treating BTC more like property than a trade.

Feels like this would affect psychology more than charts.

So question to you, guys, would people still trade actively…
or would crypto finally become something people just accumulate?

Curious how others see it.

[BADecker]

Taxes are voluntary. People are tricked into volunteering without even realizing it. And since all State income taxes are based on the Federal IRS taxes, if you don't volunteer in, you don't pay. Capital gains taxes are 0% right now.

Of course, the way to make a lot more money than capital gains is, learn how to volunteer out of taxes. Then make a little in capital gains. Then when they come for you, sue them individually as men/women for using their office to harass you, and charge them $billions in the suit. Become a billionaire for making a tiny amount of capital gains.

[CryptoDaniel1]

I wasn’t even thinking about legality side tbh.

More about incentives.

Right now a lot of selling isn’t because people want out it’s because they close positions for accounting, year end, tax planning etc. You see it every cycle around certain dates.

If that pressure disappears, holding becomes the default behavior instead of trading.

So the question becomes less about “avoiding tax” and more about market structure does volatility actually drop if people stop being forced sellers?

Feels like it could change how cycles look entirely.

[CryptoTroubleshooter]

Capital gain = profit, so the tax exemption you posit would add to profit.
This would lure investors, fueling rallies and cushioning declines.

[BADecker]

I wasn’t even thinking about legality side tbh.

More about incentives.

Right now a lot of selling isn’t because people want out it’s because they close positions for accounting, year end, tax planning etc. You see it every cycle around certain dates.

If that pressure disappears, holding becomes the default behavior instead of trading.

So the question becomes less about “avoiding tax” and more about market structure does volatility actually drop if people stop being forced sellers?

Feels like it could change how cycles look entirely.

Isn't it the legal side of taxes that causes taxes? How many people would 'donate' money if they didn't have to pay taxes?

Right now there are people who buy and sell Bitcoin to earn a living off the peaks and valleys. They don't always win, but they would change their thinking if they didn't have to think about taxes in the mix.

The only reason the tax people are successful is, they focus the money-earners on something else. That something is that people have done something illegal if they don't pay taxes. But tax money comes out of a person's private property, because it represents value to the person holding the money.

In addition, if you actually follow the definitions of the words in tax law to their sources, they equal fraud. Taxation is fraud.

So, you are right. But it sounds like you are posting from a position of being convinced that taxation is the way to go = fraud is the way to go.