The best Sundays are for long reads and deep conversations. Earlier this week, the Let’s Talk Bitcoin! Show gathered to discuss the U.S. tax treatment of “virtual currencies” and how scams find a home wherever opportunity exists, at least for a while.

This episode of Let’s Talk Bitcoin! is sponsored by Brave.com, eToro.com and Purse.io.

During our first segment, we’ll discuss:

Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act of 2020: The proposed legislation would exempt capital gains taxes if any individual transaction results in a capital gain of $200 or less. Previous versions of the bill proposed a $600 cap. If passed, it would take effect in the 2020 tax year. Link – H.R. 5635

The IRS has a question for you: Tax filers in the U.S. are being asked if At any time during 2019, did you receive, sell, send, exchange or otherwise acquire any financial interest in any virtual currency? Link –IRS Form 1040

Yang proposes “Digital Asset Regulation”: U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang wants to clarify the tax implications of owning, selling and trading digital assets. Yang says clear policy will allow businesses to invest and innovate in the area without fear of a regulatory shift. Link – Yang 2020

Later on, we’ll dig into the “why” of scams as we begin a longer conversation on the topic.

Three main points on scams:

Ponzi schemes thrive in disrupted spaces with uncertainty, poor credentialing and poorly understood complexity

The crypto currency space has these attributes

The underlying appeal of ponzi scams (and bitcoin) comes from the mythology of redemption, getting something from nothing, the genie in the bottle, etc.

Links:

This episode of Let’s Talk Bitcoin! is sponsored by Brave.com, eToro.com and Purse.io.

Photo by Fernando Venzano on Unsplash

This episode was produced by AP’s Don and Ned. It featured discussion by Adam B. Levine, Stephanie Murphy, and Jonathan Mohan.

Music for today’s episode was provided by Jared Rubens, From Ether and Gurty Beats, with editing by Jonas.