Law Decoded: Tangible wins, new menaces and the global crypto taxation drive, Feb. 1–7
Every global event or major political crisis these days can trigger a digital asset-related conversation. As China welcomes the world’s top athletes to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, showing off ultra-high-tech facilities and sports infrastructure, some United States politicians have raised concerns over the Games’ potential to act as a booster to the digital yuan’s adoption. In neighboring Myanmar, the military government that had overthrown the nation’s elected leadership a year ago is now looking into launching its own digital currency, not to project economic influence but to improve the domestic payments system and the struggling economy more broadly.
Below is the concise version of the latest “Law Decoded” newsletter. For the full breakdown of policy developments over the last week, register for the full newsletter below.
Last week brought several favorable developments on the U.S. regulatory front. In a major win for the crypto industry, the House of Representatives passed the version of the America COMPETES Act without a provision that could have allowed the Treasury to suppress and surveil certain financial transactions without due process. The provision and its potential to endow the government with unchecked power to censor transactions have come to light thanks to crypto advocacy group Coin Center and other allies.
Another setback for the IRS came from the courtroom. The agency offered a Tezos block validator who had sued the IRS over staking rewards taxation a settlement that included a refund of the taxes paid. The plaintiff, however, took a principled stand and turned down the offer, realizing that the entire proof-of-stake industry could benefit from a court ruling in this case.
It wasn’t all rosy, though.
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