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Bitcoin falls as US lawmakers wrangle over a proposed cryptocurrency tax

Bitcoin (BTC) fell for the third day in a row, sliding below $44,000, after the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization hit a three-month high of about $46,800 earlier this week.

“There isn't much desire for bitcoin (BTC, -1.85% ) above $46,000 right now, but you aren't seeing a major sell-off either,” Matt Blom, head of trading at digital asset firm Eqonex.

Ether (ETH, -3.2 percent) (ETH), the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain and the second-largest crypto by market size, was also down, trading slightly above $3,000 at press time.

In an emailed letter, financial research firm FundStrat noted, “The crypto market is taking a pause following a week of excellent price performance.” U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) encouraged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to change the crypto tax provision in the Senate's infrastructure plan.

Any entity that facilitates a crypto transaction on behalf of another person would be classified as a broker under the existing language of the provision, which would require them to file certain tax information reports that included know-your-customer information. Proponents of the industry are afraid that the definition of brokers will encompass miners, network validators, and hardware developers.


 

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