One story line that has been swept under the rug in the midst of the excitement over the seemingly imminent spot bitcoin ETF approvals is the fact that a new IRS reporting requirement pertaining to bitcoin transaction went into effect on Monday.

One of the stipulations of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which passed Congress in November of 2021, is that any individual or business who receives $10,000 or more worth of bitcoin is now required to report the transaction along with the name, address, social security number, and other personal identifiable information of the person or business who sent the transaction to the IRS within 15-days. If you do not report the transaction along with the information of your counterpart, you are at risk of being charged with a FELONY. This is an egregious overstep and infringement on Americans' Fourth Amendment rights, which grants us protection from unreasonable search and seizure by the government. Or at least, is supposed to.

This law completely inverts the idea that Americans are innocent until proven guilty. The fact that the Federal Government is asking people to collect names, addresses, and social security numbers of transaction counterparts is extremely invasive and dangerous. As we've discussed many times throughout the year in this rag and on the podcasts, asking the Common Man to play data collection officer is an absurd proposition. How can an individual with no experience with data security be expected to secure another person's social security number? Why should someone purchasing a good or service from another individual be expected to hand that data over? And why does the government need to have its eyes on every single transaction?

The kleptocrats have no respect for you, your privacy or your autonomy

This is how the US government views the US taxpayer at this current juncture.

TFTC – Truth for the CommonerMarty Bent

This is just another notch on the ever expanding belt of tyranny that is currently strangling the nation at the moment. The government, which is made up with a bunch of thieving, insider trading, and utterly contemptible kleptocrats who have done nothing but make life harder for the Common Man over the last century, has become absolutely drunk with power. Opting for bullying and fear tactics to either force people into line via compliance or prevent them from doing anything due to the chilling effect this law will definitely incite. It is, again, an egregious overstep that should be fought hand, tooth and nail. The people running the government who write these laws should be shown no respect. They should be ridiculed and shown the contempt they deserve.

To threaten people with a felony charge for not playing the role of tax collector on behalf of the IRS is one of the most despicable and insulting things that has come out of the US government in recent years. Their grip on control is so loose that they are doing everything in their power to criminalize the most benign actions. If I get my kitchen remodeled, the bill comes out to be $10,000, pay the contractor in bitcoin, and he forgets to tap me on the shoulder before he leaves my house and ask, "Hey, can you write down your full name, address and social security number on this piece of paper so I can report you to the IRS?" he runs the risk of being charged with a felony two weeks later.

Think about that social interaction. If some random contractor asked me to do that, I would tell him, "Thanks for the new kitchen. It's beautiful. But please, get the fuck out of my house." How am I supposed to trust that he won't use my social security number to steal my identity? I'm not saying I think my contractor would do that, but you can't fault a man for being a bit apprehensive to willingly oblige to that type of request.

Insane. It's all completely insane. Though, none of it is surprising. Our government is filled with a bunch of disgusting excuses of human beings who are completely controlled by corporate and banking interests who are dead set on cattle herding us into a neo-techno-feudal world. This should be expected. However, it should not be accepted. These people don't have a single leg to stand on. They are the criminals they project the everyday Common Man to be and they are beginning to push people over the edge. They better be careful because more and more people are beginning to realize the con that they're playing and are holding up mirrors to expose the overt hypocrisy.

Final thought...

New Years resolution is to be the first person up in my house by an hour every day. It's been great so far.