Abe’s research has spurred Coin Center to advocate for different tax treatment of block rewards. The IRS issued guidance in 2014, explaining that cryptocurrency was property and should be taxed as income when received by a miner. As Abe has pointed out, no other newly created property is taxed at the moment it is made by the taxpayer. A farmer owes taxes when she sells her corn, not when it appears in her fields. Abe first developed his analysis in the context of proof of stake cryptocurrencies but the same logic should apply to Bitcoin block rewards as well. Peter and Abe explore the history of the IRS’s treatment of block rewards and discuss their hopes for a change in treatment.
