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Bitcoin, regulation and digital assets.
There is no single US crypto regulator. The SEC, the CFTC, the Treasury's FinCEN, banking agencies and state regulators each cover part of the market, and Congress has added a federal law for stablecoins. This guide maps who does what and what it means for someone buying crypto in the US.
Since January 2024, Americans can buy bitcoin exposure through exchange-traded products in an ordinary brokerage account or IRA. That is different from owning the coins themselves. This guide compares the two on costs, custody, trading hours, taxes and protections, so the trade-offs are clear.
The IRS treats crypto as property, so selling it, swapping one coin for another or spending it can create a taxable gain, while staking and mining rewards count as income. This guide covers taxable events, cost basis, the new Form 1099-DA, NFTs and the records every crypto holder should keep.
Whoever controls the private keys controls the crypto. This guide explains custodial and self-custody options, hot and cold wallets, seed phrases, the scams that target American crypto holders most often, and practical steps to protect digital assets and make sure heirs can find them.
