Will legislation stop Bitcoin from being an everyday currency?

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1t5_omegaHero Member
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#1Jan 27, 2026, 04:20 AM
I get that laws around crypto are all over the place globally, but from what I've seen, most places treat Bitcoin as a financial asset instead of a currency. This means every time you use it, you trigger a taxable event. For example, if someone buys $1k in Bitcoin and then later decides to grab a coffee for $3 after a 3% price jump, they have to pay taxes on the profit for that portion of the $3. If the next day they buy something else and Bitcoin's value drops, they can write off losses for that portion too. I really think in places where Bitcoin is seen as a financial asset, it's gonna be tough to use it for everyday purchases, even with the Lightning Network. Can't picture people dealing with tax returns that involve thousands of tiny transactions. Unless some app comes along to handle it all automatically, but that means giving a third party access to all your transaction data. On the flip side, you have countries like El Salvador where they see it as actual currency, and I assume citizens don't have to report every little transaction to their tax authority. What's your take on this?
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D4rkFalconSenior Member
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#2Jan 27, 2026, 10:05 AM
yes it is tax maybe becoming one problem tho but i think there software that can tracking your portofolio, balances and make tax information for you so loss profit and other will be calculated by sytem and we only print and give it to gov
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1t5_omegaHero Member
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#3Jan 27, 2026, 03:34 PM
Yes, I suppose a lot of people will be fine using such software, just as they buy Bitcoin on centralized exchanges and leave it there, or buy through Paypal or similar services. But I think that privacy-conscious forum users would not be happy to have everything they buy tracked by a third party and the government. At least I think it departs from the original idea of Bitcoin being a P2P electronic cash system.
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w0lf404Hero Member
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#4Jan 27, 2026, 09:51 PM
The situation you have described, is true! In countries where bitcoin js classified as a financial asset, it creates a problem for using bitcoin as a currency for regular purchases. But that's what most of the governments want! Since they have understood that they can't control bitcoin, they are trying curb its usage in a different way! Declaring bitcoin as a financial asset is one of such ways. But we can't really expect a lot of friendlyness from the government itself. Because most governments truly sees bitcoin as a challenge rather than an opportunity. We can't expect another country to follow the same path as El-Salvador.
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#5Jan 28, 2026, 12:15 AM
It is difficult but not impossible. Of course, restrictive/draconian regulations will always be unwelcoming to crypto users and holders but at the end of the day they can only do so much to shut the network down. Especially when it comes to BTC as a store of value. Regulators could possibly legislate to restrict fiat-crypto exchanges/transactions, but there is no way that they can restrict the holding of decentralized assets or just cross-crypto exchanges.
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chris.apeMember
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#6Jan 29, 2026, 04:14 PM
If someone's using a card connected to a CEX they'd be more inclined to report and pay tax on every transaction, no matter how small, a privacy conscious person who sells BTC for fiat via other means probably won't bother unless they're making a bigger purchase where it's harder to avoid paying, i.e. when buying real estate.
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fox_byteHero Member
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#7Jan 29, 2026, 05:35 PM
This does not necessarily have to be done, as it is classified as an asset, but it is a temporary measure to collect taxes and impose legislation, but it is also difficult for governments to include digital currencies as securities. The solution can be in the preparation of independent legislation about cryptocurrencies, which is something that will only happen when many people invest in cryptocurrencies, then you will get independent laws and this may happen within 10 years. Until then, most countries don't invest much in tracking tools, so as long as you care about privacy, you don't need to pay taxes (I don't encourage you not to pay taxes or try to do that)
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BasedGasHero Member
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#8Jan 29, 2026, 06:33 PM
As of now, yes its almost impossible to use it as a payment because we are going to pay more taxes for the same thing we do with cryptos but in future the things may change when the society force them to make such changes in the government monetary policies. Even now its hard for someone to spend cryptocurrency and also when it comes to tax reporting.
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mike.chadSenior Member
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#9Jan 29, 2026, 07:20 PM
Making bitcoin a financial asset is a limitation already. I think bitcoin was made to be both financial asset and payment platform but the government don't ascribe to the payment system that is the issue because of control over spending. This is the aspect that of course is pure regulation. Creation of app means third party involvement and will require KYC but bitcoin being decentralised, it may be avoided, by passed making such system optional.
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leo.foxFull Member
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#10Jan 29, 2026, 08:41 PM
Taxation would be grim, though it will not be impossible to impose it as they can surely find a way to implement it. One way is as you described it, though the government can eliminate the third-party aspect and just handle everything on their own. That would mean they would need to create another department in order to keep things tight and smooth, and the creation of another distinct department for tax purposes would be pretty expensive. It'll be hard but they'll surely find a way to make things work.
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LoneRocketSenior Member
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#11Jan 30, 2026, 02:28 AM
Perhaps this legislation is intended by the government because they do not want to adopt bitcoin and therefore want to make people annoyed with paying taxes on every small transaction they make, also if tracking software is imposed for small bitcoin transactions there will be a huge breach of privacy and of course this is something governments are very happy.
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1t5_omegaHero Member
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#12Jan 30, 2026, 08:25 AM
I don't think that's the reason. Of course governments would prefer that no one used Bitcoin, but it's one thing that I think they've realized they can't stop. They have to accept that Bitcoin is here and it's here to stay. Now what they are doing is using their legislative power to regulate it in the way they think is in their best interests.
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tony_bridgeFull Member
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#13Jan 30, 2026, 01:08 PM
It cant be possible if we do talk literally but they could really trace out possible tax evaders specially to those who had been using up centralized platforms.There's no such thing about tracking software or something like that because if it do exist in the first place then it is really a serious issue with Bitcoin itself. How good to see if Bitcoin would be used as everyday currency but we know that there are certain things which could really be a reason on why we cant do such  thing and thats volatility and of course with regulation issues. Lets just deal on what we are currently treating it for now.Adoption is on the move but dont anticipate much.
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t0m2020Senior Member
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#14Jan 30, 2026, 05:34 PM
For governments to prefer that, that would require them to actually understand Bitcoin. And with the understanding, acceptance that there's no way they can start a fight against it and not lose. Legislation appears to be the compromise, but at least in the case of China, and Southeast Asia, if I can speak for that part of the world, it's also the stop-gap solution to try and stop people from losing money to things they don't understand until proper awareness fits into place. I'm saying this from a perspective of practicality, knowing that back home, consumer and banking complaints department are under a deluge of public complaints and reports from "Bitcoin" scams. Most aren't even remotely connected to Bitcoin of course.
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GigaGangFull Member
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#15Jan 31, 2026, 05:24 AM
I think that this is a situation that is special to the U.S.. In my country, you are exempt on paying any capital gains tax on crypto transactions up to a certain amount. If that's not the case then it'll be a major hassle for anyone who is actually looking to spend their coins for sure. Tax codes around the world are quite archaic still, and unfortunately only time will tell if governments will choose to reform them.
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#16Jan 31, 2026, 09:21 AM
In my country, a bill was passed in the first reading according to which cryptocurrency will be used as a means of payment. True, indeed, while I cannot say how taxes will be paid. The bill states that the amount of taxation is determined as the difference between the amount of the sold cryptocurrency and the cost of purchasing it, and it is assumed that the tax amount will be five percent. But what will need to be done in the case of buying goods or services directly for cryptocurrency, I do not even know. Perhaps it will depend on the value of the product or service.
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1t5_omegaHero Member
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#17Jan 31, 2026, 10:57 AM
I think it's the other way around. Without having made an exhaustive study, in most countries what has been imposed is a capital gains tax. What is an exception is what happens in your country. I don't quite understand. If Bitcoin is used in your country as a means of payment, you shouldn't have to pay taxes for buying a coffee with it. I imagine that if you exchange Bitcoin for local currency will be when you apply the 5%, and we will have to see what happens when you buy a coffee. Ideally in the latter case there would be a minimum exemption, for example $100 or equivalent, below which you would not have to pay anything to buy directly.
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gw3i_4ltFull Member
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#18Jan 31, 2026, 01:18 PM
Legislation might explicitly exclude assets held for daily use from taxation as in some countries. Still, the tax authority might have a different opinion than the Bitcoin user. Yes, as long as there is the possibility of creating taxable events, it might be useful to have a way to export transaction data from the wallet software in order to avoid the taxable gains being estimated.
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mike.chadSenior Member
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#19Feb 1, 2026, 05:11 PM
By your first line of sentence, if a bill was passed for the use of cryptocreency as means of payment, it means is now legal to us crypto to make purchase so what is the problem about using crypto for payment of goods and services directly ? By a bill being passed by parliament, this means the process of deliberation and agreement has made it into law in your country and what country are you from meanwhile ?
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W1ldApeNewbie
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#20Feb 1, 2026, 07:42 PM
Legislation will prevent Bitcoin from being used as an everyday currency? With a tiny bit of effort on your part it is too late to stop BTC as an everyday currency. For example (USA in this case), buy working/usable Grubhub/Doordash codes for a ~20% discount on an established, safe exchange site and you have people bringing you food.
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