Crypto Capital Gains? Why not?

No matter where you live, you probably realize when you work a regular job you pay a lot in taxes.  Federal Income taxes, State income taxes, and employment taxes are some of the taxes you'll pay if you live in the US and earn income through labor.  

However, there is another type of income people earn that is less common.  Income made through the appreciation of a capital asset is commonly referred to as capital gains.  Not only are capital gains (long term) taxed at lower income rates in the US, but since they are not earned through labor, employment taxes aren't generally owed upon capital gains.

People are encouraged to go out and invest their capital and make gains through appreciation of the property they invest in more than they are encouraged to work.  From a tax perspective, it is better to buy a house or stock and hold it for a set time, then sell it for a profit,  than it is to work and earn the same amount of currency through labor.  This makes sense because you are risking the capital you put up to make any gain that may occur.

Enter cryptocurrencies.  Now, everyone has access to buy, hold, sell, and trade different cryptocurrencies and make capital gains from any appreciation of value in them.  I believe at this point there are something like 700 of them, many of which are tradeable.  What's even better is that some of the cryptos are so volatile from a price standpoint, that there are more and more frequent opportunities to invest in these cryptos today than ever.

Anybody looking to get into this space should carefully research ways to hold, secure, and trade cryptos before putting any currency into this area.  Also, it is mandatory to learn how to limit and control risk and NEVER invest what you cannot afford to lose.  There are so many incredible and free resources today that can teach anyone to learn to capitalize off of cryptocurrencies it is surprising that more people aren't looking into this space yet.

Happy Gains!