Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets

Cryptocurrency and other digital assets are a new kind of property built on computer networks rather than issued by a bank or government. Buying, holding, or trading them raises questions that don’t come up with a traditional brokerage account: how they’re taxed, who regulates the platforms that trade them, and what protections exist if something goes wrong.

Oversight of digital assets is split across multiple federal agencies and varies by state, since no single law defines what a cryptocurrency is or which regulator has final say. That patchwork shapes what companies can offer, how they must register, and what disclosures investors receive, all of which is unpacked in Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Regulation in the United States.

The policy debate over how much government should intervene remains active. Supporters of lighter regulation argue that heavy rules stifle innovation and push activity overseas, while advocates of stronger oversight point to fraud, volatility, and the risk to ordinary investors who don’t fully understand what they’re buying. Should the U.S. Regulate Bitcoin, and How? lays out the competing arguments without picking a side.

Retirement savers increasingly ask whether digital assets belong in a long-term portfolio at all, since the same volatility that draws speculative interest also makes them a poor fit for the tax-advantaged accounts most people rely on to build retirement security.