The removal of the ability to treat crypto to crypto as like kind trades will make accounting nearly impossible. Coins are constantly changing in value. Also many exchanges don't do very good accounting as they are not set up for this type of taxation. Even Coinbase is somewhat problematic and they just trade fiat for crypto so at least you are not chasing a moving target.

You would think that if they wanted folks to pay their taxes they would find ways to make it easier, not harder to figure them out. My guess is a lot of people will stop trading and just hodl. Others will simply not report and hope for the best.

I wonder if now is the time to invest in decentralized exchanges. BTS to the moon, I suppose. I truly believe the government will get LESS money rather than MORE money by doing this. Much easier to tax at the fiat portals. Exchanges that deal in currency have a strong incentive to cooperate with both the government and their customers when it comes to being "record friendly".

This really seems more like a move against crypto than a means of taxing it. I also notice that in their tax bill they did not approve the $600 purchase exemption. So for the time being, be prepared to declare capitol gains when you buy a latte if you use crypto. Remember if you cant prove your cost basis, it is ALL capitol gains.