Photo: Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash
Taxes are just the start for crypto regulation

Hello and welcome to Protocol | Fintech! This Tuesday: the Treasury Department wants more crypto transfers reported, Stripe likes it written down, and even Diddy's a banker now.
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The Treasury Department is ratcheting up enforcement on cryptocurrency traders as part of a broader clamping down on tax evasion.
The department proposed Thursday that the Internal Revenue Service require businesses to report receiving transfers of crypto worth $10,000 or more.
"Cryptocurrency already poses a significant detection problem by facilitating illegal activity broadly including tax evasion," the agency said in a release. "This is why the President's proposal includes additional resources for the IRS to address the growth of cryptoassets."
The IRS had previously raised concerns about crypto, particularly non-fungible tokens, as another means of tax evasion. NFTs are typically purchased with cryptocurrencies like ether; if those assets appreciated in value before getting swapped for an NFT, the buyer owes taxes on the gain.
For the White House, ramping up tax enforcement is considered an easier win than raising taxes. While tax evasion is on the IRS's front burner, some in the crypto industry have been calling on the IRS to make other changes. Those include:
The Treasury Department's proposal got crypto Twitter buzzing Thursday, but it's just one of many issues that federal agencies are considering as they increasingly focus on crypto as an area of concern. Here's a rundown of a few issues.
There's clear momentum around regulation for crypto. Expect a mad scramble for lobbyists as the industry tries to get ahead of Washington's plans.
— Tomio Geron
Relative to a traditional portfolio composed of 60% large-cap stocks and 40% bonds, a portfolio with a 30% allocation to private real estate would have generated a higher return with more annual income and lower volatility over the past 5, 10, 20, and 40 years. Power your portfolio with Fundrise.
More than SaaS: Pipe, a marketplace for recurring revenue streams, raised $250 million.
First of its kind: China Merchants Bank has launched a $50 million blockchain investment fund.
But, but: China effectively banned the use of crypto by financial institutions this week.
Buying into IPOs: Robinhood said it would allow customers to purchase pre-IPO shares.
What's most exciting to you in fintech now, outside of your own business?
The payments space is interesting. Stripe is a phenomenal company. I'm excited to see them go public so I can become a shareholder.
I'm really interested in the rise of banking as a service: not so much the business model, but rather it's the existence of that platform layer. I'm really interested to see what's built on top of it that can service specific niches. I'm an investor in a startup building a bank specifically for immigrants who don't necessarily have a credit history.
Why do you like that company?
I can relate because I came to the U.S. and I had credit in the U.K., but I didn't have a credit profile here. It's really interesting with many neobanks popping up as a result of banking services infrastructure.
What fintech trend worries you?
Predatory lending is rife — there's merchant cash advance and revenue finance players. Our mission has always been to help companies grow on their own terms, giving an efficient, aligned marketplace. A fantastic byproduct of that is we can contribute to solving that issue.
The four-week rolling average of capital into Bitcoin funds at its peak in late January. In May the net outflow was about $100 million.
Relative to a traditional portfolio composed of 60% large-cap stocks and 40% bonds, a portfolio with a 30% allocation to private real estate would have generated a higher return with more annual income and lower volatility over the past 5, 10, 20, and 40 years. Power your portfolio with Fundrise.
Thanks for reading — see you Tuesday.
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