I consider crypto currency an asset that can increase in value and decrease in value. @briandenver just like stocks in the stock market if you buy low and sell high you make a profit in that profit is reported to the IRS. Now that's only if you live in the United States. Sometimes I think if I make millions of dollars in crypto currency. I might move out of the United States. But without a strong Internet infrastructure it will be hard to buy a piña colada on the beach of a tropical island.