Comment by hcurtiss

I'm sure there's a lot to know about this topic, but it's odd to me that they'd treat a "currency" as an appreciating asset. If I'm given a dollar (or peso) as change, and if between the time I receive the dollar and the time I spend it the currency purchasing power increases, I do not pay taxes on that gain. I can just buy more stuff with that dollar (including other currencies). In this instance, where it's increasingly true that bitcoin can be used as currency to purchase goods and services, it's odd to me that those are realizing events that require you calculate gain. I get it that shares of stock work that way, but I can't buy a hamburger with shares of stock.