Pantera Capital founder faces tax probe over $850M crypto profits: Report

Pantera Capital founder faces tax probe over $850M crypto profits: Report

Dan Morehead, founder and managing partner of crypto investment firm Pantera Capital, is reportedly under investigation for potential federal tax law violations after moving to Puerto Rico, a well-known tax haven.

In a letter received on Jan. 9, the US Senate Finance Committee (SFC) requested information on over $850 million in investment profits Morehead earned after relocating to Puerto Rico in 2020.

Morehead “may have treated” these profits as exempt from US taxes, according to a Jan. 9 letter from Senator Ron Wyden seen by The New York Times.

According to the letter, the SFC was investigating tax compliance among wealthy Americans who moved to Puerto Rico and may have improperly applied a tax break to avoid paying taxes on income earned outside the island.

“In most cases, the majority of the gain is actually U.S. source income, reportable on U.S. tax returns, and subject to U.S. tax,” the letter reportedly states.

“I believe I acted appropriately with respect to my taxes,” Morehead said in a statement, adding that he moved to Puerto Rico in 2021.

Pantera Capital, founded by Morehead, was the first cryptocurrency fund in the US and has seen its initial investments grow by more than 130,000%, he wrote in a blog post on Nov. 26, 2024.

Morehead launched Pantera Bitcoin Fund in July 2013, making a lifetime return of more than 1,000 times the return on its first Bitcoin purchase at $74, he said. He added that 1% of financial wealth hadn’t come across Bitcoin at the time.

Pantera Capital holds over $5 billion worth of assets under management, with over 100 venture investments and 47% of its capital invested outside the US, according to the company’s homepage.

Crypto taxes attract regulatory attention worldwide

The investigation into Morehead comes amid increased regulatory scrutiny of cryptocurrency taxes. In June 2024, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a new rule requiring US crypto transactions to be subject to third-party tax reporting for the first time.

Starting in 2025, centralized crypto exchanges (CEXs) and other brokers will start reporting the sales and exchanges of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies.

This decision could push crypto investors to decentralized platforms in a “paradoxical situation” that could make tax revenue harder to track, Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain expert, told Cointelegraph.

Showcasing the crypto industry’s backlash, the Blockchain Association filed a lawsuit against the IRS in December 2024, arguing that the rules are unconstitutional because they include decentralized exchanges under the “broker” term, extending data collection requirements to them.

 

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/pantera-capital-founder-tax-investigation-crypto

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

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Bitcoin Price Faces Consolidation While Altcoins See Resurgence

Bitcoin Price Faces Consolidation While Altcoins See Resurgence

Even as Bitcoin continues to grapple with the key level of $64,000, experts are pointing to Ethereum’s outperformance of Bitcoin since the Federal Reserve’s 50 basis point rate cut as a possible indicator of shifting market dynamics.

Despite the minor pullbacks, institutional interest in both assets persists. Bitcoin spot ETFs reported a net inflow of $106 million on September 25, extending a 5-day streak. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) alone saw an inflow of $184 million. Meanwhile, Ethereum spot ETFs brought in $43.2 million, including $26.6 million into Grayscale’s (ETH) ETF, according to data from SoSo Value.

Meanwhile, interest in altcoins and meme coins has surged, according to Peter Chung, Head of Research at Presto Labs.

Speaking with Decrypt, he noted that the renewed enthusiasm extends beyond just Layer 1 (L1) blockchain assets. 

“The interest in alts is not just confined to L1s but also quite strong on meme coins, which have rebounded strongly today as European trading hours started,” said Chung. “DOGE, PEPE, and SHIB have all spiked noticeably, signaling that the altcoin rebound has quickly become broad-based.”

Nonetheless, attractive annual percentage yields (APYs) on major stablecoins are drawing attention. For instance, DAI through MakerDAO offers a 6.00% APY, while Morph Blue’s SPDAI (LTV 100%) provides a 9.81% APY, indicating that decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols continue to offer competitive yields.

According to senior market analyst Alex Kuptsikevich of FxPro, while stock indices are hitting multi-month or all-time highs, the cryptocurrency market is treading water at a one-month high.

Author and intergovernmental blockchain expert Anndy Lian highlighted that Bitcoin’s surge past $64,000 has shifted market sentiment into “greed” territory,” but added that excessive exuberance often precedes a market correction.

“The current undercurrent of fear on social media suggests that a sentiment shift may be underway, potentially foreshadowing a period of consolidation or even decline in the cryptocurrency market,” he added.

Speaking with Decrypt, Lian also noted that the expectation of easing U.S. monetary policy, with a projected 50 bp interest rate cut at the Fed’s November meeting, has already influenced recent market movements.

 

Source: https://decrypt.co/255130/bitcoin-consolidation-altcoins-resurgence

 

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

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New legislation to protect cryptocurrency exchange users faces mixed reactions

New legislation to protect cryptocurrency exchange users faces mixed reactions

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) introduced new legislation last week to bolster state-led oversight of the local cryptocurrency sector and enhance user protection despite concerns among industry leaders.

While South Korea’s burgeoning cryptocurrency market attracts increasing interest from global blockchain enterprises, recent high-profile incidents such as the collapse of Terra — a South Korean-led blockchain platform — point to the continued lack of centralized measures to safeguard the users’ assets.

The South Korean government’s pledge to improve its regulatory framework by enacting the Act on the Protection of Virtual Asset Users is, in part, a response to such concerns.

However, experts told Korea Pro that the country’s new legal measure comes with a significant risk, contradicting the fundamental allure of the cryptocurrency market — decentralization.

THE NEW LAW

Scheduled to take effect from July 19, after being passed by the National Assembly last June, the primary aim of the Act on the Protection of Virtual Asset Users is to oversee and protect participants in the burgeoning virtual assets market.

The law’s core objective is to protect individuals engaged in various activities within this domain, including trading, exchanging, transferring, storing, or managing virtual assets. Essentially, it serves as a regulatory framework designed to uphold the integrity of cryptocurrency transactions while prioritizing the security of users’ assets.

Under the legislation, virtual assets are defined as “electronic proofs” — assets that possess economic value and are tradable or transferable electronically. The law also delineates entities excluded from virtual assets, such as in-game currencies, and imposes obligations on virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to manage users’ deposits and assets securely.

In particular, regulations mandate that a significant portion of user assets must be stored in secure offline storage — known as cold wallets — to mitigate the risk of hacking and security breaches.

It also establishes criteria for insurance coverage or reserve fund accumulation to address risks stemming from hacking or system failures, stating that companies must have insurance or reserves to compensate users. The amount of insurance coverage required depends on the value of assets the company holds.

To address issues concerning the disclosure of vital information, insider trading, and the blocking of user assets, the legislation prohibits unjustifiable blocking of user deposits and assets, mandating crypto exchanges monitor abnormal transactions and impose severe fines for unfair trading practices.

Oh-hoon Kwon, a representative attorney at Cha & Kwon, told Korea Pro that the new act will still apply to fraudulent activities overseas if their effects are felt domestically.

“This means that foreign VASPs conducting business targeting Korea are also subject to this act,” Kwon said.

The new legislation follows the implementation of a similar law on regulating uniformity for crypto-assets in the European Union, enacted last June.

However, Kwon noted to Korea Pro that Seoul’s new law on crypto exchanges differs from the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulations (MiCA) law in that MiCA has a broader target scope, regulating various aspects of crypto-assets across different operational domains while Seoul’s new legislation is more narrowly tailored, specifically targeting activities within virtual asset exchanges.

RECENT CONTROVERSIES

The act was prompted by a significant industry shakeup involving Terraform Labs, the start-up behind Terra, a blockchain protocol and payments platform, and its founder, Do Kwon.

Terra blockchain specialized in algorithmic stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies backed by reserve assets such as fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar and aim to maintain a 1:1 peg with the underlying currency.

However, terraUSD (UST), instead of being backed directly by fiat currency reserves, relied on algorithmic equations and its sister cryptocurrency, LUNA, to stabilize its supply and demand, thereby maintaining its value at $1 as it fluctuated alongside the U.S. dollar.

Before its crash, Terra had gained significant attention within the crypto community. However, in May 2022, concerns about Do Kwon’s alleged involvement in illicit activities and questionable business practices emerged, triggering a sell-off of UST and LUNA tokens.

This also caused UST to “de-peg” from the dollar, meaning its value was no longer fixed at $1 and fluctuated independently. Consequently, both cryptocurrencies experienced a collapse in value.

Thousands of investors lost over $400 billion in investments, highlighting the necessity for transparency, accountability and regulatory compliance in the virtual asset market and prompting governments to forge newer regulations to protect against such incidents.

Edward Dhong, a senior foreign attorney at Yoon & Yang, told the Asia Law Business Journal that the country’s insufficient regulations to safeguard virtual asset users did not align with South Korea’s substantial scale of crypto transactions in 2021.

A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION?

Amid fears of a collapse similar to the one seen with Terra and to ensure user protection, the new law targets cryptocurrency exchanges based in South Korea, mandating they store user assets through banks in bond and offline to enhance user security.

Third-party management operations are also barred, and service providers must hold assets identical in amount and type to those entrusted by users.

The new act is the latest in the National Assembly’s continued efforts to streamline legislation in line with unconventional currencies, such as tabling a bill to oversee digital assets independently in Nov. 2022.

In the past, the legal system was subject to more regulatory gaps, as cryptocurrencies were under the jurisdiction of the Capital Markets Act, which is designed for a broader financial market.

Experts told Korea Pro that Seoul’s effort to protect virtual investor assets has been a necessary step forward, considering user concerns about the emerging crypto market.

Anndy Lian, an inter-governmental blockchain advisor based in Singapore, lauded the new law as a catalyst for nurturing a transparent legal environment conducive to the growth and innovation of virtual assets.

He told Korea Pro that it could potentially “attract more investment and participation from domestic and foreign entities.”

Lian also anticipated a “smoother integration of virtual assets into the existing financial system,” allowing for more efficient transactions and services and an improvement in the standards of market practice in South Korea.

While attorney Kwon echoed Lian’s views, outlining that the law provides the groundwork for restraining fraudulent virtual asset trading activities within the market, he also highlighted the need for the law to incorporate additional guidelines offering clarity on its clauses.

“While this legislation targets fraudulent virtual asset trading activities, such as unfair trading, it lacks specific details regarding the various forms of fraudulent behavior,” Kwon explained.

Lian also acknowledged this, noting several significant hurdles the legislation must overcome to successfully exercise its projected role in the South Korean virtual asset market.

He noted that the stringent regulations could potentially cause VASPs to exit the South Korean market and restrict crypto services for South Korean users, as the costs and guidelines required by South Korean jurisdiction may prove too challenging.

“We need to understand that we are dealing with innovation and it changes very fast. Creating a baseline and having backup correction plans along the journey would be a more protective method for the South Korean market,” according to Lian.

 

Source: https://koreapro.org/2024/02/new-legislation-to-protect-cryptocurrency-exchange-users-faces-mixed-reactions/

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

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