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​Licking Their Lips, The IRS Targets Coinbase Users - Nathan McDonald (02/03/2018)

From the archives of sprott money news

March 2, 2018

Something I have warned about for years is now unfolding. This is a trend that has taken years to reach this point, but it was unavoidable: The IRS has begun to crack down on cryptos and those who use it.

Coinbase, after a year of battling a court order in a valiant attempt to protect their customers, have lost. Now they must submit roughly 13,000 of their top clients account statements to the IRS.

These top 13,000 clients are what many would classify as "whales" (read: the biggest fish), and thus the easiest target for the IRS to go after first...

Note that I said, “first.”

The IRS, smelling blood in the water, is not going to stop here. For those who have tried to avoid the long arm of the law by hiding under the thin veil of anonymity, the day is coming where they must pay the piper.

As I have been saying for years, this day was unavoidable. Bitcoin is not truly anonymous and can be traced with a little effort. This is made that much easier when it comes to a service such as Coinbase, in which you must legally submit documents to prove your identity. To think that the IRS was not going to poke and prod when so much money is on the line would be foolish.

Do not take this as a total slamming of Bitcoin or cryptos as a whole. I believe a decentralized currency, created by the free market and that competes alongside our current, horribly-flawed fiat system, has its benefits.

However, this foreshadows the vision that many central banksters and financial elites have in mind for the future of digital currencies.

As has been mentioned numerous times lately, more and more countries are pondering the idea of moving to a fully digital, crypto-style currency of their own. This idea, if enacted, would give them horrific powers and abilities to control cash flows, and thus your life as a whole.

This is a nightmare scenario that would make our current fiat-based system look like the gold standard, as at least at this time, you have some control via physical cash.

Moving forward, we can expect the IRS to expand their reach and dig deeper into the crypto sector, attempting to squeeze more money out of those who have avoided their tax payments and not claimed their profits correctly.

For those who have been fortunate enough to experience a large boon from your recent ventures, be smart and protect yourself. Plan accordingly and pay your taxes if you must. The risk is simply too high moving forward, and the government will not stop until they have turned over every stone they can.

The piper is calling, and they are not going to take no for an answer.

Don’t miss a golden opportunity.

Now that you’ve gained a deeper understanding about gold, it’s time to browse our selection of gold bars, coins, or exclusive Sprott Gold wafers.

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About the Author

Nathan McDonald is a libertarian, entrepreneur and precious metals enthusiast. He has always taken a keen interest in free markets and economics since an early age, which naturally led him to become a true believer in precious metals and all that they stand for.

Nathan served eight years in the Royal Canadian Navy as an electronics technician, seeing the true state of the world, before starting his first successful business. He has since gone on to create a number of businesses, all of which are still in operation and growing.

In addition to this, Nathan runs a network of successful precious metals blogs, and a growing newsletter that has attracted readers from all around the world. He is a regular and highlighted writer for the highly respected Sprott Money Blog, which covers world events, geopolitics and of course precious metals.

*The author is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by Sprott Money Ltd. The views and opinions expressed in this material are those of the author or guest speaker, are subject to change and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprott Money Ltd. Sprott Money does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, timeliness and reliability of the information or any results from its use.

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