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In the US, cryptocurrencies at a federal level are regulated by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen), the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) which characterize[2] cryptocurrencies as money, property, commodity and a security respectively.
The multi-classification of cryptocurrencies pose uncertainties to the taxation of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology transactions which industry participants are eagerly awaiting answers and clarification to.
On May 30th, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) for a second time, sent a letter to the IRS asking for more direction on cryptocurrency taxation beyond Notice 2014-21[3] which treats them as property[4]. The AICPA’s first letter to the IRS was sent[5] two years ago, on June 10, 2016.
“We recommend the IRS release immediate guidance regarding the tax treatment of virtual currency transactions, similar to that of Notice 2014-21 so that authoritative guidance exists,” said Annette Nellen, CPA, CGMA, Esq., chair of the AICPA Tax Executive Committee.
“Specifically, we request additional
