After much buildup and preparation, the Ethereum Merge went smoothly this month. The next test will come during tax season. Cryptocurrency forks, such as Bitcoin Cash, have created headaches for investors and accountants alike in the past. While there has been progress, the United States Internal Revenue Service rules still weren’t ready for something like the Ethereum network upgrade. Nonetheless, there seems to be an interpretation of IRS rules that tax professionals and taxpayers can adopt to achieve simplicity and avoid unexpected tax bills. How Bitcoin Cash broke 2017 tax returns Because of a disagreement over block size, Bitcoin forked …

Binance announced the existence of its Global Law Enforcement Training Program in a blogpost on Sept. 27. The creation of the program could be considered retroactive, since the company’s investigations team has been holding workshops for law enforcement for the past year. Binance expanded its investigations team a year ago, and has held one-day workshops in numerous countries since then, according to the company’s blog. It mentioned Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Netherlands, Philippines, Sweden, South Korea, and the UK by name. The workshops were intended to help law enforcement detect and prosecute financial- and cybercrimes. Related: 74% of …

New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer said that United States lawmakers needed to pass legislation clarifying regulators’ role over crypto or risk companies taking their business abroad. Following a roundtable discussion on Sept. 27 with Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair Rostin Behnam and many industry leaders, Gottheimer said some of the crypto bills proposed by members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate were “building blocks” aimed at achieving regulatory clarity. Though saying he was “bullish” on the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act, Gottheimer suggested that the bill — aimed to give the CFTC greater authority over the crypto spot …

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA, has added cryptocurrency-friendly payments app Revolut to its list of companies authorized to offer crypto products and services in the country. In a Monday update to its list of registered cryptoasset firms in the U.K., the FCA showed Revolut was in compliance with amended regulations from 2017 on ‘Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds.’ The fintech firm joined 37 other companies with the green light to offer crypto services in the country after being granted an extension to operate as a cryptoasset firm with temporary registration in March. Firms offering …

Terra co-founder Do Kwon, wanted by South Korean authorities and whose whereabouts are currently unknown, has suggested he’s not changing his routine in response to potential legal action. In a Monday tweet, Kwon said members of Crypto Twitter had likely seen him walking on the street or around shopping malls — without mentioning the city or country — in “the past couple weeks” despite Interpol reportedly issuing a Red Notice for the Terra co-founder. Kwon told his more than one million followers in a reply that he had not seen his name on Interpol’s list of individuals to “locate and …

Crypto exchange Coinbase has found itself in legal hot water after being accused by blockchain-based software firm Veritaseum Capital of infringing on a patent relating to its blockchain technology — and is now seeking $350 million in damages. According to a lawsuit filed on Thursday by U.S. law firm Brundidge & Stanger in the U.S. District Court in Delaware, Veritaseum alleges that Coinbase infringed on its cryptocurrency payment transfer technology patent, known as the “566 Patent.” Veritaseum said the patent revolves around “novel devices, systems and methods” which enable parties to “enforce value transfer agreements” with “little or no trust” …

The digital asset landscape in the European Union is evolving ahead of the passage of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation framework that aims to instill regulatory clarity around crypto assets. While well-intentioned, the current structure of MiCA may throttle innovation. But if a revised version of this policy passes, it could see the European Union become one of the leaders in the digital payment space. If not, then there is a genuine possibility of the continent falling behind. MiCA aims to set a regulatory framework for the crypto asset industry within the EU. At this point, much still needs …

The long-awaited cryptocurrency regulation framework released by President Joe Biden’s Treasury Department this month attempted to outline a plan for managing the burgeoning crypto industry. Unfortunately, the department’s assessment failed to embody more substance than a mere mission statement. While Biden’s administration appears to be taking a “whole-of-government approach” toward overseeing the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector and its ripple effects on the traditional economy, they are focused predominantly on defending against negative events — such as financial crime — and failing to facilitate positive events, such as the wealth-building opportunities that crypto offers to Americans excluded from the traditional big-banking …

An international law firm representing groups of Celsius investors has filed a motion to appoint a committee to represent their interests in the crypto lending firm’s bankruptcy case. In a Thursday filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York, lawyers with the law firm Milbank requested the appointment of a ‘Official Preferred Equity Committee’ to represent certain Celsius shareholders. According to the filing, the equity holders “urgently require their own fiduciary” for representation in court alongside Celsius debtors and an Unsecured Creditors Committee, or UCC. “The need for a fiduciary to pursue the Equity Holders’ …

El Salvador, the small Central American nation that made history just over a year ago when it made Bitcoin (BTC), recently marked its first year of BTC adoption. The Salvadoran government touted BTC as a tool to attract foreign investment, create new jobs and cut reliance on the United States dollar in the country’s economy at the time of adoption. Many BTC proponents and the libertarian community rallied behind the small nation despite mounting pressure from global organizations such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to remove BTC as a legal tender. A lot has changed over …

The government of the United Kingdom has introduced a bill aimed at cracking down on money laundering and fraud, specifically expanding authorities’ ability to target cryptocurrencies used for illicit purposes. In a Thursday announcement, the U.K. government said lawmakers had introduced the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill in Parliament as part of efforts to drive “dirty money” out of the country. The bill contained provisions cutting down on the “red tape around confidentiality liability” and granting law enforcement the authority “to compel businesses to hand over information which could be related to money laundering or terrorist financing,” including crypto. …

The Internal Revenue Service is hiring 87,000 new agents, but taxpayers will not feel the pain for another two to three years. That’s how long it will take the agency to hire and train agents. Few have discussed the extent of this pain. Still, it’s something to think about when you consider the majority of coming audits will be conducted by new agents, many of whom will have been hastily hired and operating with minimal supervision. Playing the audit lottery will not be smart in future tax years. Taxpayers should protect themselves now, especially when profiting from statutory gray areas …