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A comment on U.S. Feds Seized Nearly $1B in Bitcoin from Wallet Linked to Silk Road. Parent comment

Re:U.S. Feds Seized Nearly $1B in Bitcoin from Wallet Linked... by breakfastduck on Thursday November 05, 2020 @04:54PM (#25002453)
This is actually a good point. The government know you've been paid it and you've paid tax but that doesn't mean you can't rightfully hide the rest of the money away somewhere.

They don't know if you spent the rest of it immediately or kept it if you never put it into a domestic bank.

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Re:U.S. Feds Seized Nearly $1B in Bitcoin from Wallet Linked... by jariel on Thursday November 05, 2020 @04:59PM (#25002511)
You can indeed 'rightfully stash $1B in cash under your mattress' - but almost any other private/public storage mechanism will involve gains/losses which have to be disclosed.
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Re:U.S. Feds Seized Nearly $1B in Bitcoin from Wallet Linked... by packetlost on Thursday November 05, 2020 @05:53PM (#25002983)
Wouldn't they only have to be disclosed when they get turned back into usable currency within your jurisdiction?
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Re:U.S. Feds Seized Nearly $1B in Bitcoin from Wallet Linked... by sneak on Thursday November 05, 2020 @06:04PM (#25003074)
US citizens are taxed on their worldwide capital gains (and income).
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Re:U.S. Feds Seized Nearly $1B in Bitcoin from Wallet Linked... by packetlost on Thursday November 05, 2020 @06:14PM (#25003156)
Right, but capital gains tax is calculated based on the profits relative to the currency in which it was bought and sold with. You have to sell the bitcoin or exchange it for another form of recognized currency in order to pay capital gains on it. This is more or less how stocks work as well.
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Re:U.S. Feds Seized Nearly $1B in Bitcoin from Wallet Linked... by Ancapistani on Friday November 06, 2020 @01:05AM (#25005333)
I believe those are generally only taxed when “realized”.
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