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Curious isnt the role of the secret service to protect the president and other elected officials/representatives? Why are they charged with launching crypto cur

Curious isnt the role of the secret service to protect the president and other elected officials/representatives? Why are they charged with launching crypto currency awareness? It almost feels like the executive branch is pushing for cryptocurrency crackdown through sketchy agencies.

mjburgess 5y ago
Until 2003, the Secret Service was part of the Department of the Treasury, as the agency was founded in 1865 to combat the then-widespread counterfeiting of U.S. currency. -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secret_Service https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secret_Service
- toastal 5y ago
  Will this mean we can treat cryptocurrencies like fiat currencies when tax season comes?
  - mjburgess 5y ago
    cryptocurrencies arent currencies, so i'd guess not
  - imglorp 5y ago
    They are treated as commodities for tax purposes: when you sell them or use them to buy something, there is a tax consequence because you saw a gain or loss. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/virtual-currencies https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employe...
  - UncleMeat 5y ago
    No. The IRS doesn't operate on "well it seems like these are the same thing." And further, you have to pay capital gains on forex transactions anyway.
- hasmanean 5y ago
  Maybe they also protect the president but they are really there to protect the currency—from the president.
koenneker 5y ago
They were founded to investigate currency fraud and forgery and even were under the Treasury Department until 2003. I'm think that this fits in as a modern continuation of that role as there are some fraudulent activities going on in the crypto space.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
azernik 5y ago
For historical reasons, the Secret Service does both VIP protection and prevention of financial fraud. They were originally the Treasury Department's enforcement arm. After Lincoln's assassination, the federal government realized it needed bodyguards, and the Treasury Department police were the only federal civilian police force that existed at the time.

mjburgess 5y ago

Until 2003, the Secret Service was part of the Department of the Treasury, as the agency was founded in 1865 to combat the then-widespread counterfeiting of U.S. currency. -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secret_Service https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secret_Service

toastal 5y ago
Will this mean we can treat cryptocurrencies like fiat currencies when tax season comes?
- mjburgess 5y ago
  cryptocurrencies arent currencies, so i'd guess not
- imglorp 5y ago
  They are treated as commodities for tax purposes: when you sell them or use them to buy something, there is a tax consequence because you saw a gain or loss. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/virtual-currencies https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employe...
- UncleMeat 5y ago
  No. The IRS doesn't operate on "well it seems like these are the same thing." And further, you have to pay capital gains on forex transactions anyway.
hasmanean 5y ago
Maybe they also protect the president but they are really there to protect the currency—from the president.

koenneker 5y ago

They were founded to investigate currency fraud and forgery and even were under the Treasury Department until 2003. I'm think that this fits in as a modern continuation of that role as there are some fraudulent activities going on in the crypto space.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

azernik 5y ago

For historical reasons, the Secret Service does both VIP protection and prevention of financial fraud. They were originally the Treasury Department's enforcement arm. After Lincoln's assassination, the federal government realized it needed bodyguards, and the Treasury Department police were the only federal civilian police force that existed at the time.