Crypto Surprise Rattles Industry in Rare Bipartisan Tax Plan (1)

A Senate proposal to ramp up IRS surveillance over cryptocurrency transactions has the industry and investors questioning the plan’s viability and its promise of generating $28 billion in tax revenue.

Cryptocurrency exchanges, investors and their advisers were caught off guard Wednesday when a bipartisan Senate infrastructure agreement was released that included a large-scale increase in the requirements for crypto brokers and investors to report their transactions to the Internal Revenue Service. The reason for the last-minute inclusion: the proposal would raise a chunk of money to help fund the $550 billion of investment into transportation and utility upgrades.

Rob Portman

Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg