With all the fuss going on at the moment about the price of bitcoin hitting $US 11,000, I thought I might use the opportunity to talk a little about the tax implications that might arise from “dealing" in bitcoins.
First, a little background. bitcoin is just one type of cryptocurrency. As at September 2017, there were some 1,100 different cryptocurrencies in existence. bitcoin was then, and still is, the biggest. As at November 2016, bitcoin had a market capitalisation of $US 11.3 billion.
The other main cryptocurrencies include Ethereum ($875 million); Ripple ($288 million), Litecoin ($183 million) and Monero ($94 million).