Vincenzo Villamena is the founder of Online Taxman. He has extensive experience in both tax preparation and advising clients in accounting and financial transactions.

Crypto has been called the future of money. It has created significant returns for some and tempts more and more people to get into cryptocurrency. However, crypto taxes are often overlooked. Almost every coin transaction – mining, spending, or trading – can be a tax event for US tax purposes. Although cryptocurrencies are a digital currency, the US treats crypto as an asset for tax purposes. Therefore, selling or even spending Bitcoin and other coins can have capital gain implications.

To make matters more complicated for cryptocurrency taxes, digital exchanges are not regulated. That means they do not issue a 1099 form, nor do they calculate gains or cost basis for you. Detailed record-keeping is, therefore, a must.