IRS ‘Operation Hidden Treasure’ Looks to Do Some Bitcoin Mining of Its Own

IRS ‘Operation Hidden Treasure’ Looks to Do Some Bitcoin Mining of Its Own

Cryptocurrencies, criticized by some as detached from the real world and floating in the ether, are nevertheless tethered to reality through taxes.In general, Bitcoin is treated like other appreciating assets, but the cryptocurrency's distinctive attributes create pitfalls for the unwary."As with many taxes, the devil is in the details," Kell Canty, founder of CEO of Verady, developer of the Ledgible CryptoAsset Tax and Accounting platform, told Newsweek.Kell Canty, CEO, Verady (Photo Provided).

"Tax on 'forks' and 'airdrops' where a new asset is simply given to the crypto holder— sometimes without their knowledge—will have income tax obligations," he said. "Some crypto activities such as decentralized finance, staking and others are new with little guidance, support, or reporting."Operation Hidden Treasure, a joint effort of the Internal Revenue Service's civil office of fraud enforcement and its criminal unit, will review blockchain transactions to ferret out possible tax evasion or misreporting.IRS agents will train with European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, known as Europol, as part of the stepped-up tax enforcement efforts aimed at cryptocurrencies.The buildings of Europol at The Hague, Netherlands.

JurgenNL

Some fear that Bitcoin is used to fund illegal activities and that investigators don't have full legal authority to track its use."People seem