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One of the reasons given for the sudden surge in Bitcoin value, which only happened recently, was that many American investors were selling their coins ahead of tax collection.

Whilst this may or may not have been the reason, the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) has now released data on exactly how many people have reported capital gains from their cryptocurrency investments.

The results are far from compelling – not even 1% of the traders dealing in cryptocurrencies have reported any of their activity yet.

With the deadline for tax filing fast approaching, the IRS questions the current state of affairs.

Few have reported capital gains from cryptocurrencies

The IRS has suggested that fewer than 100 individuals have reported any capital gains or losses on their cryptocurrency investments by April 13th.

Since there are a quarter million people thought to be involved in cryptocurrency trading, that comes out to less than 0.04%.

This is seen as somewhat suspicious, seeing as 2017 was a very good year for some – and very bad for others.

Regardless of what happened with the investments, the IRS expected quite a few reports on it.

That, however, did not happen.

Complexity could be the reason

One of the reasons for this could be the uncertainty surrounding how exactly to report such gains or losses.

A representative of Credit Karma, Jagjit Chawla, opines:

“There is a very good probability that the perceived complexities of reporting cryptocurrency gains are pushing filers to hold out till the quite past minute.”

However, the reporting of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin should be nothing new to US investors.

The IRS has been providing guidance on how to report transactions for the past four years.

The fact that Bitcoin has been around, and presumably traded in, since 2008 should also be a cause for suspicion.

The IRS considers cryptocurrencies to be assets, which means that they are to be treated like any other physical property.

In this sense, cryptocurrencies are treated in the exact same way as making a profit from buying and selling houses or land.

Regardless of whether one is trading or mining cryptocurrencies, tax applies.

Nothing new under the sun

Despite the worryingly low figures, the IRS is used to this lack of activity.

The current figures are actually not very odd, considering that only 802 people filed any capital gains or losses back in 2015.

That said, the 2017 tax year saw a huge increase in cryptocurrency trading compared to the preceding years.

This has raised some suspicion and led some people to believe that cryptocurrency traders are underreporting on their activities.

The IRS, however, remains calm.

Although the deadline is approaching with increasing speed, there is still time for the cryptocurrency traders to file their capital gains and losses.

What do you think the reason for the late filing is? Are you a cryptocurrency trader? If so, why (or why not) would you wait with filing your gains and losses? Are the tax laws too complex?

Leave your comments below!

Qompass Review

Qompass is an ambitious project with an even more ambitious vision: to revolutionize how the financial markets operate.

What is Qompass?

Qompass is a system that aims to provide users with a new way of accessing financial markets. Qompass comprises of three things: it’s a blockchain platform, it’s a mobile app, and it’s a debit card. It’s the Kinder Surprise of ICOs. The platform will be using Qompass tokens (called QPS), and the mobile app will function as a digital wallet, with which users can load credit onto their cards. The aim of the Qompass is to eliminate corruption on the global financial market by transforming it with blockchain technology.

Who is behind it?

The CEO of Qompass is Emmanuel Lim, who has over three decades of experience in data encryption and cryptography. Educated in Computer Science at Singapore Institute of Technology, his past experience includes working for Standard Chartered Bank as a head of their cybersecurity. Along with CTO Vladimir Okhrimenko and CFO Selena Neskovic, he founded Qompass in Hong Kong last year.

How does it work?

By using a combination of active leverage, artificial intelligence, and neural networks, Qompass aims to create an ecosystem of applications and protocols. In other words, the system will contain a number of services and products that will benefit users interacting with financial markets. As with other kinds of cryptocurrencies, Qompass is completely decentralized and protects the anonymity of its users. One of the added benefits is that the Qompass system will function much faster than current ones like Bitcoin and Ethereum. As a matter of fact, the developers promise that it will be able to process 30,000 transactions every second. One of the ways it will do this is by harnessing artificial intelligence. This will, in turn, lower the cost of usage, which will translate into lower transaction costs for its users. While the platform is built with financial transactions in mind, it is also designed with user customizability in mind.

What are the services and products?

Qompass promises quite a few interesting products and services for its users. The Qompass Trader uses artificial intelligence to analyze movements in the financial markets, and then provide the user with recommendations on what to trade when for maximum profit. The Open API Platform allows for financial institutions around the world to link up with the platform. The Crypto P2P Exchange is a peer-to-peer exchange that will allow users to cash out their QPS earnings through the financial institutions linked to the platform. The Blockchain-Based Financing will allow users to put down their QPS as guarantees on loans in other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Finally, the Crypto Payment Cards will be the “debit card” that allows users to access the blockchain.

How much can you invest?

Qompass offers investors packages in three different tiers, that each come with different benefits. The Alpha Package (the smallest one) can be bought for just $1, and gives users the opportunity to double their investment each month, whilst paying a quarter of their earnings back into the platform. For those investing $10,001 or more, the Delta Package will allow for 200% return on investment each month, whilst only requiring 20% of the earnings to be paid in fees. Finally, the Omega Package ($100,001 and more) will give investors up to 300% back on their investment each month, and only requires 15% in performance fees.

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It was only a few days ago that journalists covering the fall of Bitcoin could still claim that the cryptocurrency was at its lowest point since its all-time high in December 2017.

Although the value of Bitcoin seemed to have stabilized in March, where it floated around $11,500 per coin, it plummeted further.

This steady decline was reflected in other cryptocurrencies like Ripple, Ethereum, and especially the altcoins.

Today, the tune is very different, as it would seem that the famous cryptocurrency has made a surprising, but not unwelcome, comeback in terms of value.

Bitcoin is back

Yesterday, the value of Bitcoin soared by a staggering 17%, which translated into an increase in value of more than $1,000.

Prior to this spike, the value was at an all-time low of $6,786, which meant that many investors had been losing sleep over the future of their assets for months.

The value of Bitcoin was yesterday morning at $8,011, which could on the surface seem like the Bitcoin is making a long-awaited comeback.

Many investors are therefore breathing a sigh of relief, as it could be a sign that the Bitcoin is on the way back up.

Skeptics don’t buy it

However, there are those who view this rise in value as a completely normal and predictable phenomenon.

Experts see this as a sign that investors have gone from long-term to short-term, meaning that day-traders are most likely the cause of the spike.

The head of BKCM, Brian Kelly, confirmed this in an official statement:

”Once bitcoin broke higher, shorts were squeezed and forced to cover.”

One of the developers for Cypher Capital seemed to agree:

“The ratio of short margin trades versus longs has been increasing recently. Buying volume ticked up today and a lot of these short trades got liquidated, helping fuel the rally.”

Others believe that the spike could be due to the fact that many Bitcoin investors owe taxes to the IRS, and are looking to pay off this debt by selling off their assets.

The host of the Bitcoin & Markets, Ansel Lindner, is one of those people:

“I think it’s just some pent-up market movement, [there is] some relief in the selling [ahead of tax day]”

The future’s still bright

What needs to be considered is the many bad news there has been in regards to the international cryptocurrency market.

Just recently, Canadian banks banned their clients from using their services to trade in cryptocurrencies.

This follows a string of other countries around the world which have imposed stricter regulations on cryptocurrency investors and exchanges.

These countries include, but are not limited to, the US, the UK, South Korea, Vietnam, India, and China.

What this means is that despite the increasing unpopularity surrounding cryptocurrencies, the perceived value is still high amongst the investors.

What do you think caused the sudden spike in Bitcoin? Do you think the experts are right in saying that it is simply to pay the IRS ahead of tax day? Or is it because the Bitcoin has stabilized?

Leave your comments below!

Iagon Review

Since the emergence of cloud technology, businesses and private persons alike are storing their data remotely and using SaaS applications.

The cloud space is currently dominated by the likes of IBM, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, as these giants have the capacity to host large amounts of data.

Just like the banks, however, their business relies on a centralized model – a model that will soon be outdated.

As the phenomena of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence become more prevalent in our society, the centralized models will not be able to cope with the increasing amounts of data.

Therefore, it would be advantageous if only there were a decentralized model businesses and consumers could rely on…

Enter IAGON

According to their website, IAGON’s vision is “to create a Global Supercomputer, powered by Artificial Intelligence & Blockchain Technology”

Essentially, the company aims to marry two of the most revolutionizing technologies of the future: artificial intelligence and blockchain.

IAGON’s developers have created a platform that can be used by anyone on any smart device.

With its sophisticated AI, the platform is incredibly intuitive and only requires basic knowledge to operate.

By utilizing blockchain technology, the platform will furthermore provide its users with more safety than a centralized cloud service ever could.

The best part of it is perhaps the way users will be able to generate revenue for themselves via mining.

Whenever a user’s device is idle, the network will use its processing and storage capabilities, so no power ever goes to waste.

This means that all users in the network will essentially be using each other’s free storage, which is 100% safe due to the encryption.

In sum, IAGON offers a safer, faster, and wider-reaching solution than any current system out there.

So how does it all work?

Since the IAGON ecosystem depends on harnessing the processing and storage capabilities of the users in the network, it will only grow faster, stronger, and smarter as more users join.

As a user, you lend the idle power of your computer, server, data center or smart device, and receive tokens in return as compensation.

These tokens can then be traded for fiat money on any of the major cryptocurrency exchanges.

When you use the network for storage, you can rest assured that it will be safely encrypted – just like when you trade in Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency.

Because the platform will integrate multi-distributed ledger technology, it will be able to utilize the networks of Tangle and Ethereum.

The network will also have contributors, offering their skills and capacities as and when they are available.

The network’s AI will then ensure that the contributors’ price is reasonable, by matching it to their level of expertise.

To summarize

IAGON is set to revolutionize the way we think about cloud technology and cryptocurrency mining.

Forget having to trust the current Internet giants with keeping your data safe in their centralized data centers.

Forget having to dedicate processing power and energy to mine for cryptocurrencies.

All this will change with IAGON.

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