CoinTracker, which makes a tax calculator for cryptocurrency taxes, and a portfolio tracker for crypto investments, has partnered with
Casa, which provides a multisignature security solution for bitcoin. The partnership comes at a time when anxieties are high over cryptocurrency regulation and taxation, as much of the guidance from the IRS has proven inadequate and confusing.

Casa’s multisignature security means that moving coins requires more than one approval or “sign-off.” It’s a best practice used by security professionals, and can help protect funds from hacking, SIM swaps and physical threats. CoinTracker officially recommends Casa for Bitcoin multisig.

While the IRS does consider cryptocurrency to be a taxable property-class asset, there still isn’t a lot of understanding, and consequently regulatory clarity, about the way in which cryptocurrency is bought, sold, traded, and, most importantly, easily lost. For instance, starting last year, cryptocurrency investors started to see automated audits on their taxes from the IRS, triggered by the inappropriate issuance of 1099-K forms from crypto trading platforms.

“The IRS is certainly struggling to provide clear guidance, but it’s just really confusing,” explained Chandan Lodha, co-founder of CoinTracker. “Cryptocurrency is a nascent space, with cutting-edge technology that is totally different from just five years ago. When the IRS released its first crypto tax guidance, it just targeted bitcoin. Now the crypto space has many currencies, and there’s been a huge proliferation in coins and uses — lending, futures and so on. The original guidance doesn’t cover the comprehensive nature of all the different things people are using crypto for. Keeping up with that pace of change is tough — I don’t envy the IRS in that regard.”

In cryptocurrency, the risks aren’t limited to price volatility. The chances of outright loss — either by theft or accident — are higher than almost any other asset class. In 2019 alone, more than $150 million in cryptocurrency was reported stolen in exchange hacks; and to date, nearly 4 million bitcoin (20 percent of the total supply) is estimated to have been lost forever due to lost wallets and private keys.

Additionally, depending on the jurisdiction, the use of a custodian means a risk that crypto funds could be seized or frozen. And of course, there are also physical threats to reckon with: natural disasters, thefts and even in-person attacks. Since 2017, the number of physical attacks on Bitcoiners has increased by 400 percent, which is why strong digital privacy and personal precautions are important.