Stricter – COOPER GENERAL NEWS

Treasury announced Thursday that it is taking steps to crack down on cryptocurrency markets and transactions and that a transfer of $ 10,000 or more must be reported to the Internal Revenue Service.

“Cryptocurrency already poses a significant identification problem as it makes illegal activities by and large, including tax evasion, easier,” the finance department said in a press release.

“Because of this, the president’s proposal includes additional resources for the IRS to address the growth of cryptoassets,” the department added. “The new financial account reporting system would cover cryptocurrencies and cryptoasset exchange accounts, as well as payment service accounts that accept cryptocurrencies. As with cash transactions, companies receiving cryptoassets with a fair market value of more than $ 10,000 would also be reported.”

Bitcoin reversed course shortly after the Treasury Department’s announcement and was last traded 1.6% according to Coin Metrics. Before that, it was up more than 9% in the session.

A growing number of Wall Street analysts raised the alarm last month that regulators from the Treasury Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission could soon play a more active role in regulating cryptocurrency.

The Treasury Department’s release came as part of a broader announcement of the Biden government’s efforts to fight tax evasion and promote better compliance. Among the proposals officials are considering include strengthening IRS funding and technology, as well as stricter penalties for those who evade their commitments.

The Treasury Department estimates the difference between taxes owed by the U.S. government and taxes actually paid was nearly $ 600 billion in 2019.

Tighter regulation is likely to anger some cryptocurrency investors, who have seen Bitcoin drop around 25% in the last month and talk about surrender creeping in online forums.

With longtime cryptocurrency expert Gary Gensler at the helm of the SEC, Raymond James expects it will only be a matter of time before Congress gives the regulator broader jurisdiction.

He told lawmakers earlier this month that allowing the SEC to regulate the exchange of cryptocurrencies will help keep investors safe and prevent market manipulation.

“Chairman Gensler is seen as a potential ally for cryptocurrencies as a former professor on the subject, but these statements are likely to reopen the debates over regulatory risk for cryptocurrencies and exchanges,” Raymond James analyst Ed Mills wrote in early May.

“In the short term, this could create a headline risk,” he added. “In the medium to long term, however, regulation of the asset class would give the asset class further legitimacy and could form a regulatory ditch around existing cryptocurrency exchanges.”

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during the daily press conference on May 7, 2021 in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC.

Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images

While the Treasury and SEC involvement can ultimately be a boon for cryptocurrency investors, short-term regulatory hurdles for investors in Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and the like are likely to present another problem.

These assessments were confirmed by Miller Tabak last month when the company told its customers that “the cryptocurrency markets do not adequately account for legal risk.”

“Gary Gensler’s confirmation as SEC chairman and the volatility of the cryptocurrency over the weekend following rumors of stricter regulation underscore the regulatory risks this industry is facing,” wrote strategic economist Paul Shea in April.

“The difference in regulatory risk and advancement as a means of payment raises an important question: Are the recent successes of other coins a result of good news, or piggybacking them on the positive sentiment around Bitcoin?” he added.

Democrats and Republicans have made regulating cryptocurrency a top priority in 2021 as the price hike for Bitcoin and other digital assets over the past year sparked concerns of market manipulation and uninformed retail investment.

– CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to the coverage.

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On Wednesday, public health officials urged athletes to wear masks and stay three feet apart while exercising as new research describes the rapid spread of coronavirus infections during intense exercise classes at gyms in Honolulu and Chicago.

Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised fitness centers to take various measures to prevent outbreaks, including enforcing proper mask use and reminding the gym and staff to stay home if they have symptoms of illness or are tested positive for the virus.

Heavy breathing during vigorous physical activity in tight indoor spaces increases the chances of transmission, and fitness instructors giving exercise instructions to members may also have contributed to the spread, according to the CDC study. Exercising outdoors or taking virtual fitness classes could reduce the risk of infection, the authors said.

“It is very important that people who want to go to a gym and exercise are aware of the symptoms of Covid and are aware that if they feel something that looks and feels like a Covid-19 symptom, they will be staying at home as a precaution, ”said Richard A. Teran, a CDC epidemiologist in Chicago who was one of the authors of the Chicago case study released Wednesday.

At a Chicago gym, Dr. Teran and his colleagues 55 coronavirus infections among 81 people who participated in high-intensity personal fitness classes between August 24 and September 1.

Among them were 22 people who had attended class on the day they first had symptoms of the disease or the day after. Three went to an exercise class the day they tested positive or the day after. In total, 43 members of the gym who tested positive took classes when they were potentially contagious, researchers said.

The outbreak occurred even though the gym classes were limited to 25 percent of their usual size and there were only 10 to 15 people in attendance.

Members were required to wear masks when entering the gym. At this point, temperatures were measured and examined for symptoms. But they were allowed to remove their masks during training; Those who were infected were less likely to wear masks during class, the researchers found.

In Hawaii, public health investigators linked 21 infections in late June to a 37-year-old male fitness trainer in Honolulu who taught at various facilities and developed symptoms of Covid-19 – body aches, chills, headaches and coughs, according to a CDC released on Wednesday -Report.

On June 29, a few hours before his first symptoms, he was teaching a one-hour stationary bike class with 10 participants in which no one wore a mask. All of these participants tested positive in early July, including a 46-year-old man who worked as a fitness trainer at another facility. He became acutely ill and was hospitalized in an intensive care unit.

Updated

Apr. 27, 2021, 4:36 p.m. ET

Twelve hours before this instructor started experiencing symptoms, he held several small kickboxing sessions and a personal training session. Of 11 exposed people, 10 were infected at the beginning of July and tested positive. All 10 developed Covid symptoms and one was hospitalized in the intensive care unit.

On July 22nd, the City of Honolulu issued emergency warrants requiring facial covers in fitness centers, including while exercising. Previously, members of the gym could remove their face coverings while exercising.

Fitness centers and gyms have been hard hit since the pandemic broke out in March last year. They were among the first to close last spring, and now they look forward to welcoming customers back.

The International Health Racquet and Sportsclub Association, an industry group, recently reported that 15 percent of the country’s clubs and studios closed last fall and further closings and bankruptcies were expected. The association has encouraged people to return to the gym and adopted the slogan “Exercise is important!”.

Many clubs have implemented new safety protocols and taken steps to improve ventilation, improve air filtration systems, and maximize outdoor air circulation, said Alex Larcom, senior manager for health promotion and health policy for the association.

The outbreaks described in the CDC studies were caused by inconsistent mask use and other behavioral disorders, as well as possibly poorly ventilated buildings, she said.

“In Chicago you had members who went to class when they were symptomatic or Covid-positive,” Ms. Larcom said. This facility wasn’t originally designed as a fitness center, she added, and symptom screening appeared to have been poorly done.

“Across society, we rely on people who are sick or who think they are sick to get out of society,” she said. Those who went to the gym when they had symptoms “probably went to the grocery store, dined, and roamed the community too.”

The CDC researchers emphasized that a diverse approach to safety is required in fitness facilities, including good ventilation, consistent and correct use of the mask, persistent reminders to keep staff and customers at home when sick, and additional hand washing stations.

“Nothing is 100 percent certain,” said Ms. Larcom. “There is never a zero risk. But clubs are not the main driver behind the spread of Covid. “