BTC ecosystem won't come crashing down because BTC has real-world utility. As for MtGox users who lost money, I would think this counts as a capital loss that

BTC ecosystem won't come crashing down because BTC has real-world utility. As for MtGox users who lost money, I would think this counts as a capital loss that can be written off on their taxes. It can be used to offset capital gains or to reduce their AGI by $3,000 per year with carryover of losses into future years. It will be interesting to see the stance that the IRS takes of people who bought BTC for $1,000 each and then it turned worthless due to Mt Gox. The money is either gone due to capital loss (in which case it's deductible) or theft (in which case it's deductible, but better get a police report). More discussion from a few months ago: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304773104579268322915488180 http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1000142405270230477310...