Resources
Tax and crypto glossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms that show up in IRS letters, crypto tax reports, offshore disclosures, and opinion letters, written by the attorneys and accountants who deal with them every day. Each term links to the guide or service page where we go deeper.
Browse by topic: All terms Business and Corporate (18) Crypto Tax (71) International Tax (24) IRS Forms (47) IRS Notices and Letters (10) Opinion Letters (4) Tax Controversy (68) Web3 Regulation (7)
Showing 7 terms in Web3 Regulation.
B
- Bank Secrecy Act and AML
- The Bank Secrecy Act is the federal law requiring financial institutions, including registered crypto money services businesses, to maintain anti-money laundering programs, verify customers, keep records, and report suspicious activity and large cash transactions.
M
- MiCA (EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation)
- MiCA is the European Union's framework for crypto issuers and service providers, fully applicable since the end of 2024, requiring licensing, disclosures, and reserve rules for stablecoins across the EU.
- Money transmitter license
- A money transmitter license is a state authorization required for businesses that transmit or exchange money on behalf of others, and depending on the state and business model it can apply to crypto exchanges, custodians, and payment services.
S
- SEC and CFTC jurisdiction over crypto
- The SEC regulates digital assets that are securities and the CFTC regulates those that are commodities, including Bitcoin and Ether, and legislation to define the boundary between them has been debated in Congress through 2025 and 2026.
- Security token versus utility token
- A security token represents an investment interest and is regulated as a security; a utility token provides access to a product or service and, if properly designed and sold, may fall outside securities law, and the classification is decided by the Howey test, not the label.
- Smart contract enforceability
- Whether a smart contract is a legally enforceable contract depends on ordinary contract law: offer, acceptance, consideration, and intent. Several states have passed laws confirming that code-based agreements and blockchain signatures are valid.
T
- Travel Rule
- The Travel Rule requires financial institutions, including registered crypto money services businesses, to collect and pass along sender and recipient information for transfers above a threshold, so the data travels with the funds.
