Bitcoin (BTC) falls below $20,000; New York Attorney General sues KuCoin; Biden includes crypto tax changes in 2024 budget request.
Bitcoin (BTC) falls below $20,000
Bitcoin (BTC) has dropped below $20,000 after almost two months. The reason is attributed to the 2024 budget of US President Joe Biden and the collapse of Silvergate Bank.
According to data from CoinMarketCap, the BTC price retreated to $19,789 as of March 10. From the moment the news was written, Bitcoin continues to be traded at $ 19,930.
As it is known, Bitcoin had an excellent start to 2023. However, the downturn at crypto-friendly bank Silvergate seems to have affected the crypto market and US banks.
Returning to the crypto market, the Bitcoin price lost 5% in just three hours on March 3 due to uncertainty in Silvergate.
The announcement that Silvergate Bank, one of the major banks serving crypto companies in the US, entered voluntary liquidation on March 8, emerged as a possible strong wind for the crypto industry.
Crypto tax changes were also included in the 2024 budget statement. However, the Biden administration’s proposal has included digital assets in a new class. The 2024 fiscal budget announced that it will include cryptocurrencies in its “wash sales rules”.
New York Attorney General sues KuCoin
According to Bloomberg’s report, the New York Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit alleging that cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin was selling unregistered securities.
The New York Attorney General’s Office once again increased the pressure on the industry, claiming that KuCoin, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, operates unlicensed in the state of New York.
Letitia James, one of the top officials in the state of New York, said in a statement today that KuCoin did not register with regulators as a securities and commodities broker and therefore is guilty. According to James, the company misled its customers by identifying itself as the stock market.
One of the highlights of the lawsuit was the characterization of some cryptocurrencies as securities. According to the regulator’s claim, KuCoin conducted unregistered sales of “securities” such as Ether, LUNA, and UST.
The Dutch Central Bank also accused cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin for allegedly operating without a license.
Another New York regulator had previously targeted cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. Following these developments, Kraken had to terminate its staking services for US customers.
Coinbase stated that after Kraken’s troubles, its staking services are much different from other exchanges.
Biden includes crypto tax changes in 2024 budget request
According to the published 2024 financial budget, cryptocurrencies will be included in the “wash sales rules”. This means that the tax deductions on losses from the rapid trading of cryptocurrencies will disappear. Stocks and bonds are currently subject to wash sales rules.
Wash sales, as it is known, is a tax strategy to sell a stock that has lost its value immediately and repurchase it when the price drops further. However, it also demands a tax deduction due to a loss in tax returns.
The Biden administration claims that this change to cryptocurrencies will bring in approximately $31.6 billion in revenue over the next ten years.
Within the 2024 financial budget, a few more items about cryptocurrencies stand out. These include reporting information to authorities by financial institutions and digital asset brokers.
Additionally, the requirement for US citizens to report large assets in foreign digital asset accounts to the IRS was also included in the budget.