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GM. This is Milk Road, the crypto newsletter that's as energizing as a double espresso with a side of motivation.
Here’s how we’re kicking off the week:
- Crypto’s new proposed tax rules 📖
- FTX and BlockFi creditors get breached 🔓
- What to watch this week 👀
- OnlyFans owns some ETH 🍪
Prices as of 10 AM ET. Click here for our Fear & Greed Index
CRYPTO’S NEW PROPOSED TAX RULES 📖
Ladies and gents, the U.S. government is proposing new crypto tax rules…
The bad news: The proposal is 282 pages long. 🤬
The good news: The Milk Man did all the reading so you wouldn’t have to.
Luckily, he has a rare ability called IntraOsmosisLearningism* so it went by quickly.
(*totally made up. But if it were real, it’d probably look like this..)
Here’s everything you need to know about the newly proposed U.S. tax rules:
- Crypto brokers would need to collect and file information on their customers to the IRS
- “Crypto brokers” would include crypto trading platforms (centralized and decentralized), crypto payment processors, and certain crypto wallets.
- Brokers would need to report information on customers’ tax positions via a new 1099 form that details gains and losses.
- Investors would then use that form to report taxes.
- If passed - therules would go into effect in 2026, for the 2025 tax year
- It was proposed by the Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Services (IRS)
This is big for 2 reasons…
On the one hand, rules and regulations are important. They’ll help bring the crypto industry out from the shadows and unlock massive growth.
Plus, it’s estimated the new rules could generate the U.S. government $28B in revenueover the next 10 years. #moneymaker
On the other hand, many are against the newest proposed rules because they include decentralized exchanges and self-hosted wallets.
If passed, many speculate the rules would kill decentralized finance in the U.S. as we know it.
So, what’s next? The U.S. government has opened up a public comment period until October 30th, then a public hearing will be held on November 7, 2023.
Milk Road Take: Taxes are a lot like paid subscriptions to your country - except you can’t cancel them, no matter how sh*tty the service gets.
So some crypto tax rules are needed. But unclear regulations that target decentralized platforms (and crypto as a whole) will only push crypto companies away from the U.S.
And it’s already started…
- A handful of crypto companies have shut down U.S.-based services
- Founders are advising crypto devs to focus on customers outside of the U.S. over the next 5-10 years
Although the proposed tax rules aren’t finalized, it feels like U.S. investors are being punished by their parents - while crypto and the rest of the world are having fun outside.
LEVEL UP YOUR TRADING EXPERIENCE
Trading tools are kinda like a new pair of shoes: There’s no shortage of them, but you want to make sure you’re getting the perfect fit. (The Milk Man is a Jordan guy)
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Disclaimer:Not investment advice. Crypto trading involves risk of loss. Kraken does not offer services to residents of Washington or New York.
BANKRUPT CRYPTO CREDITORS GET BREACHED 🔓
There are 3 certainties in life:
1/ Death
2/ Taxes
3/ Weekly hacks in crypto
And right on queue, there was another crypto exploit on Friday.
The victim: Kroll - a company that manages creditor claims on behalf of bankrupt companies.
It’s been working with a handful of bankrupt crypto companies like FTX, BlockFi, and Genesis.
The hack: Kroll was breached in a recent SIM-swapping attack against one of its employees.
The result: The hackers were able to steal data like customers’ names, addresses, email addresses, and the size of the customers' claims.
So what? Although no crypto funds were stolen, many fear the data breach could be followed by a phishing campaign that targets creditors.
P.S. - If you are a creditor, we suggest you be extra careful opening emails and clicking links over the next few weeks. Stay on those toes and keep that head on a swivel.
P.P.S. - It’s official. Being a creditor for a bankrupt crypto company is now the 10th Circle of Hell.
Not only do you lose your money, trust, and dignity - but you also lose data.
QUESTION OF THE DAY: With all the bankruptcy action going on lately, we got curious…
Are you currently a crypto creditor going through the claims process?
Hit “reply” to this email with a simple yes or no.
WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK 👀
It’s the last week of the month. And this is crypto, so you know it’s bound to end with a BANG.
We put a list together of all the things you need to keep an eye on this week…
Bitcoin ETFs: The first decision deadlines to approve/deny 6 Bitcoin ETFs are later this week - including BlackRock’s, Bitwise’s, and VanEck’s applications.
Grayscale v. SEC: The U.S. Court of Appeals is expected to issue a ruling on the Grayscale vs. SEC lawsuit this week.
(Bloomberg analysts are predicting a 70% chance Grayscale wins)
Macro stuff: The U.S. is set to release economic info like Q2 GDP data, July’s job report, Personal Consumption Expenditures Price (PCE) inflation data, and more.
Token unlocks: ~$140M worth of tokens will be unlocked this week - including dYdX ($14M), Optimism ($35M), and Hedera ($65M).
Hong Kong: HashKey (the first Hong Kong-based CEX with regulatory clearance) is set to officially launch today and will allow retail investors to start trading BTC and ETH.
**spidey senses start tingling**
Buckle up Roaders, there are plenty of ingredients to make for another volatile week.
BITE-SIZED COOKIES 🍪
OnlyFans invested $19M+ into ETH last year, according to recent financial statements. The bad news? OnlyFans is down 42% on its investment. The good news? Everythingelse is up - revenue, profit, subscribers, hormones. You name it.
Three founders of the popular memecoin PEPE stole $16M from the project. They’ve abandoned the project and left full control with the last remaining founder. #TheLastPepeStanding
Western Union is exploring ways to integrate the Ripple blockchain and XRP token into global money transactions. Blockchain tech 🤝 Global payments.
BlackRock has invested $400M in publicly-listed Bitcoin mining companies. The firm is the second largest shareholder for 4 out of the 5 biggest Bitcoin miners.
Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist dropped a new NFT music album on Gala Music. During the last tour, Earl Sweatshirt had QR codes up and fans who scanned it received a free, limited-edition NFT of one of the songs. Other fans can buy the album, or stream it for free, on Gala Music. (Pretty cool use case)
MILKY MEMES 🤣
HIT THE INBOX OF 250K+ CRYPTO INVESTORS
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ROADER REVIEW OF THE DAY
VITALIK PIC OF THE DAY
Monday mood: shirt says it all.
— Milk Road Images (@MilkRoadImages)2:01 PM • Aug 28, 2023
DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.
