IRS Commissioner Asks Congress for Authority to Regulate Crypto

In a hearing earlier than the Senate Finance Committee, IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig requested for specific congressional authority to manage cryptocurrencies.

Responding to a query from Senator Portman (R-OH) about whether or not or not the IRS at the moment has sufficient authority to manage crypto, Rettig mentioned, “I believe we want congressional authority.”

He continued: “We get challenged regularly, and to have a transparent dictate from Congress on the authority of us to gather that info is important. And the latest market cap in that world—within the crypto world—exceeded $2 trillion and greater than 8,600 exchanges worldwide. And by design, most crypto, digital currencies are designed to remain off the radar display, so—we might be challenged.”

Below Rettig, a Trump appointee, the IRS has issued John Doe summonses as a method of gleaning details about U.S. taxpayers who use cryptocurrencies. However Rettig claims the company’s efforts are are sometimes challenged internally.

The market capitalization of the crypto market hit $2 trillion in April, when the value of Bitcoin was round $60,000, although it is since sunk again all the way down to $1.5 trillion, in accordance with information from CoinGecko.

“We do want further instruments, and we completely want further sources,” concluded Rettig.