According to the head of the IRS’s cybercrime section, the IRS seized $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency in 2021. This amount is orders of magnitude more than what was confiscated in prior years.
According to CNBC, the US government owns a significant quantity of bitcoin. According to the publication, the government has increased its surveillance of cryptocurrencies, seizing more of them as a result. The IRS revealed earlier this year that it has seized $3.5 billion in the fiscal year 2021.
According to reports, the US authorities seized 170,000 percent more cryptocurrency this year than it did in 2019. According to Jarod Koopman, head of the Internal Revenue Service’s cybercrime section, in an interview with CNBC,
“In fiscal year 2019, we seized around $700,000 in cryptocurrency. It increased to $137 million in 2020. And we’re now at $1.2 billion in 2021.”
The government has already auctioned bitcoins, often at significantly discounted rates. Its next auction will see the sale of $56 million in cryptocurrency associated with the BitConnect lawsuit. However, in this case, the monies would be utilised to compensate victims of the tragedy.
The increase of crypto-related seizures is staggering, though maybe expected in hindsight. The cryptocurrency market has grown in popularity in recent years, accompanied by an increase in the value of assets. That may explain why lawbreakers are increasingly using cryptography.
Additionally, the US government has just lately began investigating the crypto industry for potential vulnerabilities. They are very concerned with preventing the asset class from being used to support criminal activity, and this is one of their top concerns. To that aim, the IRS and other federal agencies are pursuing a variety of measures.
Taxation, investor protection, and stablecoin regulation are just a few of the proposals. The IRS, in particular, has been working diligently to amend the 1040 tax form to include crypto-related explanations. Additionally, it is collaborating with Taxbit to verify that merchants accurately record their sales.
Meanwhile, the SEC is conducting an assessment of a comprehensive framework for investor protection. They have made this point several times and are presently evaluating the numerous ETF applications. With the latter, considerable progress has been made, albeit no spot ETFs have yet been approved.
Stablecoins are proven to be a significant source of contention for legislators, and will almost certainly be regulated in the next months. Senator Elizabeth Warren spent much time at a recent Senate session asking concerns regarding stablecoins and DeFi.
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