34
votes
Accepted
Can one avoid paying US income tax by being paid in Bitcoin?
No. You have to pay taxes no matter what currency you are paid in, or for that matter, in most barter transaction as well. You would have to pay taxes even if you were paid in goats.
Also, the ...
- 195k
18
votes
Is it against the law to sell Bitcoin at a flea market?
Since sales are in dollar and the OP does not specify a jurisdiction, I will assume Washington state US. You may need a business license, depending on the municipality. There are various permits ...
- 210k
16
votes
Accepted
How are cryptocurrencies not illegal by the US Constitution?
The Constitution only regulates the powers of the government; it doesn't directly say what the people can and can't do. In particular, it doesn't say directly that nobody except Congress can coin ...
- 29k
15
votes
Accepted
Can a person hack bitcoin private keys and legally claim the bitcoins for himself?
In the UK it is an offence to cause a computer to gain unauthorised access to any program or data held in any computer (s1 Computer Misuse Act 1990).
It seems likely that other European jurisdictions ...
- 14.7k
13
votes
Accepted
Is it legal to trade bitcoin for cash in Virginia, USA?
The short answer is that a few individual trades would be legal (e.g. if you sell some to a friend), but doing so on a regular basis for profit (e.g. offering a sale price and a bid price to all ...
- 13k
10
votes
Is an 'honest', tongue-in-cheek ponzi scheme ICO still illegal to operate?
The ultimate question is whether an obviously joke enterprise constitutes a real offering of securities or just performance art (a Ponzi scheme is one of many types of securities fraud).
An ...
- 195k
9
votes
Is it possible for an individual to commit money laundering like a bank?
Because money laundering is a form of transnational crime there is an extensive system of treaties which harmonise, to some extent, the laws of most developed countries. Relevantly to your question, ...
- 8,632
6
votes
Accepted
Can a person be prosecuted for unknowingly possessing illegal computer files?
There is a federal law, 18 USC 2252, which criminalized distribution and receiving of child porn. One part of the law addresses a person who
(1) knowingly transports or ships using any means or ...
- 210k
6
votes
Could someone avoid legal responsibility by transferring crypto coins multiple times between wallets before making an illegal purchase?
No
If you break the law you are legally responsible.
Can you make it more difficult for law enforcement to find and prosecute you? Of course, that's why bank robbers wear masks.
- 198k
6
votes
Is it against the law to sell Bitcoin at a flea market?
united-states
If you exchange bitcoin for currency (rather than accept it for purchases), you may be required to register as a Money Services Business (and follow the corresponding regulations). I ...
- 1,373
5
votes
Why can't a cryptocurrency be classified the same way as airline points or store rewards?
It's always amazing to me why some people find it so difficult to understand, just because the word "crypto" is involved. It goes like this:
Cryptocurrency is an asset, like any other asset. It's ...
- 594
5
votes
Can bitcoins be taxed?
The United State doesn't have a national sales or value added tax, so the IRS would only care about the phone sale insofar as it might represent income to the seller. Insofar as it's income to the ...
- 3,149
5
votes
Accepted
How does contract law apply to smart contracts?
In the case of a smart contract ... it it actually valid?
The question is based on the misconception that the terms "smart contract" (technical term) and "contract" (legal term) ...
- 25.6k
5
votes
Accepted
What kind of claims did Ryan Salame forfeit in the FTX trial?
No claims against FTX were involved, it's all money lost by Salame to the government to satisfy the judgment from his guilty plea.
Ars Technica reports:
A money judgment of $1.56 billion was entered ...
- 33.4k
4
votes
How does insider trading law affect bitcoin exchanges?
Your question assumes that there is a method to find a block of bitcoins with a faster computation than the brute force method used so far.
If such a faster calculation method exists, it is ...
- 139
4
votes
Accepted
Initial Coin Offering restrictions for Non-Resident Aliens (F-1 Student)
Are there such restriction for F-1 students who have been in the US
for less than 5 years, who are non-resident aliens for tax purposes
and are actually not citizens of the US but are citizens of ...
- 195k
4
votes
Does bitcoin count as income in the U.K.?
Yes you would.
Bitcoin is a form of property right or asset, just like any other form of wealth. And, income is a positive increase in the sum total of your property rights. You might be able to ...
- 195k
4
votes
Are identifiable cryptocurrency miners helping crime?
Here are the suggested federal jury instructions for aiding and abetting:
To "aid and abet" means intentionally to help someone else commit a
crime. To establish aiding and abetting, the ...
- 7,112
4
votes
Can one avoid paying US income tax by being paid in Bitcoin?
Taxable income (Merriam-Webster) as defined by the IRS is
...generally speaking, is the gross income of an
individual or corporation, less any allowable tax deductions. Your
taxable income is, ...
- 18.8k
4
votes
Can I build an iPhone app that generates cryptocurrency income without the user's consent or knowledge?
The most important thing to realize is that such an App will probably never be accepted into the Apple App and/or iTunes store if you submit it without the mining disclosure in the end user's TOS.
...
- 18.8k
4
votes
How are cryptocurrencies not illegal by the US Constitution?
One question is whether Bitcoin etc. are money in a legal sense. They don't attempt to link themselves to any actual currency. It's perfectly legal to trade without actual money. Commerce is ...
- 1,252
4
votes
Would using a StableCoin bypass the "Money Transmitter" laws in the US?
I see that this would put me under heavy US regulation, and I'd like
to avoid that, since it would require huge funding to hire lawyers to
do something like that.
There are many reasons for ...
- 18.8k
4
votes
Would a bitcoin "cleaning" service be legal in New Zealand?
The applicable law is the New Zealand Anti-Money Laundering law. The regulations describing exactly what is covered don't mention Bitcoin cleaning, but the "wire transfer" and "currency exchange" bits ...
- 13k
4
votes
Why is Silk Road criminal but not LocalBitcoins?
It comes down to intent
... and possibly responses to illegal activity.
Localbitcoins intention is to facilitate trade in bitcoins - in itself a legal undertaking. Cryptocurrancy transactions can be ...
- 198k
4
votes
Sanctions against dealing in Bitcoin
Yes
When you enter the jurisdiction of a country, you are subject to its laws.
You are not, in general, subject to punishment for things you did before you entered its jurisdiction but if possession ...
- 198k
4
votes
Is there any doubt about crypto-currency and like-kind exchanges?
“Real property” is land and things attached to land
Everything else (including Bitcoin) is personal property.
Therefore, since the 2017 amendment, Bitcoin is not captured by the s1031 like-kind ...
- 198k
4
votes
What laws do crypto exchanges need to abide by?
Do the exchanges need to check with each government to make sure the information is valid? Or is submitting documents enough?
They need to understand the (usually very complicated) laws governing ...
- 35.2k
4
votes
If you buy something only sold in cryptocurrencies - for example, a non-fungible token (aka NFT) - is that a potentially taxable event?
By using my ETH coin to purchase an NFT, have I just committed a
potentially taxable event?
Yes. When you purchase something with cryptocurrency, this is treated as a barter transaction for income ...
- 195k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible